


An Everlasting Bond

by TheKissingHand



Series: Silver Millennium Stories & Fanart [1]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Battle, Drawing, F/F, Fanart, Friendship/Love, Negotiations, Partnership, Silver Millennium Era, Strategy & Tactics, deviantART
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 18:32:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13793658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKissingHand/pseuds/TheKissingHand
Summary: Set in Silver Millennium. Young Princess Uranus and Neptune were assigned to collaborate as senshi partners, but their partnership commenced and developed in the most unexpected way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on FanFiction.net (Jan-Feb 2018)
> 
>  **Why I wrote this** : I spent the majority of my holiday break doing a ton of drawings and paintings, and listening to music (and a bit of work). The ideas for this story came from a combination of one drawing and a classical cover of a pop song (nothing to do with work lol). This is my second fanfic and I hope you'll enjoy it.
> 
> I'll be adding some fanart in selected chapters. (I'm glad AO3 allows me to add images throughout the story!)
> 
>  **Disclaimer** : I do not own any Sailor Moon characters in this story.  
> 

**1995, Tokyo**

The young aqua-haired girl took on the stage on a luxury cruise at Tokyo Bay. She played her violin beautifully, and mesmerized the audience with her techniques and beauty.

The virtuoso was hoping to grab the attention of a blonde, handsome teenager dressed in tuxedo sitting by the table. However, the young blonde was the only person in the audience who did not look interested in the playing, and walked out abruptly during the middle of her performance.

Later, the two met at the grand staircase where a painting called "The End of the World" was hung. The blonde teenager observed the painting with a heavy heart and seemed to be pondering upon something. The aqua-haired girl was sitting on the stairs, waiting to hear what the blonde had to say about her painting.

 _"Did you paint this?"_ The handsome teenager asked.

 _"You're famous, aren't you? You had lot of fans in school. One of them wants to ride along the coastline with you."_ The aqua-haired girl responded.

_"The end of the world. I'm surprised that a well-to-do girl who can't even kill a bug can paint such a tragic fantasy."_

_"It's not a fantasy. I can see it clearly! Just like you can."_

" _Ridiculous. I am Tenoh Haruka, the first junior racer in Japan. Memories of my previous life or the end of the world have nothing to do with me. If someone has to do it, then you can do it._ " Haruka said, then raising her voice.  _"And I don't want you snooping around me anymore!"_

**963, Moon Kingdom**

Princess Uranus and Princess Neptune were born on the same year. As a celebration of the birth of two princesses in the outer solar system, Queen Serenity gifted Miranda Castle to Princess Uranus, and Triton Castle to Princess Neptune. Each castle levitated and revolved around its respective planet and served as a citadel to protect the planet and its people. The two baby princesses would be raised and nurtured in their respective castles, and eventually become senshi and guardians of their home planets.

Queen Serenity also arranged that the two princesses be partners - they would work together as a team to protect and defend each other's planet as their own. Princess Uranus would be given a Space Sword and Prince Neptune would receive a Deep Aqua Mirror when they both turned twelve years old. The Queen did not elaborate on her master plan, but indicated that through their collaboration, their talismans would complement each other and guide them through building the partnership.

**975, Triton Castle, Neptune**

Beautiful sound of violin music echoed throughout the palace.

Smiles and nods were seen on the face of the old violin master and a middle age lady.

The twelve year old aqua-haired girl had her eyes closed, violin and bow in her hands, and chin rested on the instrument. She skillfully drew the bow across the strings, moving her wrist back and forth rhythmically for elegant vibratos. She was already playing technically demanding masterpieces from the great composers of her planet. It was almost hard to believe that such masterful sounds were produced by someone at this tender age.

"Excellent as always, Your Highness," The violin master complimented. "That's it for today. I'll see you again in a few days."

"Thank you." The young aqua-haired girl bowed gracefully.

The violin master soon left the grand room, leaving the young and middle age ladies there. The young one was Princess Neptune, and the older lady was Lady Despina. The two were ready to discuss their travel to Uranus next month. This would be Princess Neptune's first time visiting her neighboring planet for a formal introduction to her future senshi partner.

"Your Highness, that was a lovely performance," Lady Despina said, "We can't wait to watch you perform at Miranda Castle next month."

"Thank you, but I haven't performed to anyone outside of Neptune. I don't know if they'll like Neptunian music-"

"I'm sure this is not what you're worrying about."

Lady Despina, who took a pivotal role in raising and nurturing Neptune since her parents' death, was a motherly figure to the young princess. She gently placed her hand on the tweenager's and smiled.

Neptune's cheek felt warm.

"You're right," Neptune answered, looking down on the creamy marble floor. "I have never met her. I am nervous."

"Remember, Queen Serenity is always right. Her Majesty had plans for you and Princess Uranus. You just have to trust her."

"What is Princess Uranus like?"

"I do not know. But you'll find out on your own. This is how you will form your partnership." Lady Despina explained.

"I know. I just hope that she wants to work with me."

"I know you'll try your best to make this partnership work." The lady smiled. "Your Highness, I know I mentioned it many times already, but please remember to try to keep your Mirror out of sight from anyone until you meet Princess Uranus. Queen Serenity said that the mystic power is kept inside the talisman, and only Princess Uranus can unleash its power to its full extent with her Sword-"

"And before then I can only use it when it's absolutely necessary, like if my life is in danger. I understand." The young princess finished her sentence.

Lady Despina smiled and nodded approvingly.

**Titania Arsenal, Uranus**

Sound of fighting was heard outside the arsenal.

A young child, dressed in loose white linen tunic and a marine blue belt, wearing no armor, was battling an adult in a sword duel. The man looked like an experienced warrior, wearing a suit of light silver armor. He was fast and strong, but he seemed to be having a hard time prevailing over the agile and crafty child in a simple sword fight.

"Don't hold back!" The young child commanded.

"Your Highness," The man panted, "I don't dare to do that!"

As he lunged forward with his sword, the young child dodged briskly, tackled the man over and pointed her sword at the man chest, its tip touching his armor.

"I got this round." Princess Uranus said and smiled. "General, three to one. I'm leading. Six more rounds to go."

"Your Highness, you have won." The general said.

"Not yet. We agreed to ten rounds," Uranus said. "How about I get you a better sword."

The Princess turned away and started making her way inside the arsenal.

"Princess! Please wait!" A voice was heard from afar.

Uranus turned her face towards the source of the voice and saw the butler of her palace running towards her.

"Your Highness," The butler said as he approached her, panting. "Our visitors from Neptune are here. Could you please come back to the castle with me and get prepared?"

"Not yet. I have six more rounds to go," Princess Uranus said with a wink. "Plus, this is much more fun than playing dolls with another princess."

The butler's face turned pale.

**Miranda Castle, Uranus**

Royal staffs in the palace greeted Princess Neptune and her travel companions as they arrived.

"I sincerely apologize for the absence of Princess Uranus. She has been training at the arsenal since this morning. Our butler has gone out to bring her back here." The royal ambassador said. "I will help you to get settled and show you around. Please make yourself comfortable here."

Neptune smile gracefully.

"I can't wait to meet Princess Uranus."

Neptune settled herself in the guest chamber and changed into a more casual outfit. She then asked the royal ambassador to take her to the garden so that she could do some sketches.

The ambassador led her to the Garden.

"Here we are. This is Rosalind Garden. Please enjoy yourself and let me know if you need anything else."

"Thank you."

Neptune glanced around the beautiful scene. The garden was situated on the elevated level of Miranda castle, and was quite different than her Thalassa Garden in Triton Castle. It was a little breezy and chilly, and flowers of blue, ivory, and golden colors could be seen everywhere. The scent was fresh and airy. It was nonetheless a grandiose and serene scene.

She took out her sketchbook and started capturing the scenery of her surroundings.

After a few sketches, Neptune held up her sketchbook to take a look at her sketching from different angles. Suddenly, the wind picked up and blew her graphite pencil away. She quickly set her sketchbook on the bench and ran after her pencil. The wind was so strong that her waist length aqua hair got in the way, obstructing her vision and she lost track of where it went. She quickly twisted her hair into a bun and tried to follow her way to the lost pencil.

The aqua-haired young lady made it to a small garden bridge. She thought that the pencil must have been lost at that point, since there was no way it could have traveled across the bridge. When she decided to give up her search, a transparent portal suddenly appeared in front of her on the bridge. It startled her. It was pellucid, and almost invisible had she not observe meticulously. She immediately looked around at her surroundings - the bridge, along with the rest of the garden still looked the same. The portal continued to open and glowed subtly at its rim as if it were inviting her inside. Neptune looked again and saw the same garden through the portal. Out of curiosity, she stepped forward and walked through it, and afterwards the portal vanished behind her.

Everything seemed to return to normal. Standing on the same bridge and in the same garden, Neptune wondered what she had seen before. It was no big deal, she thought. The young princess progressed along to the other side of the bridge. But as she continued to walk, the wind became harsher, trees and flowers around her started disappearing, and the pavement under her feet gradually morphed from limestone into sand.

Soon Neptune realized that she was standing on a sandy beach. Ocean waves were heard from her ears and there was a sea not far away from her sight. It was an unbelievable transformation and she did not expect that a serene garden could turn into an opulent view of the sea within steps. The sound of waves was clearly audible as the strong wind was driving the water bodies. Whitecaps were visible on the sea surface. The young lady proceeded closer to the water for a glimpse of the scene.

She stood there for a while, dazzled by the view and the sound. But a sudden strong wind blowing past her gave her a second thought about the indulging sound and the dreamy view. Even though she was in Miranda Castle, she couldn't let her guard down completely.

She grew a bit wary and decided that it was best to go back and be prepared to meet Princess Uranus.

As she turned away, she realized that the garden was no longer within her sight. There was nothing but sand and the sea in her panoramic view and there was not a single tree or flower nearby. She looked down for her trail of footprints in the sand but it was wiped out and resurfaced by the strong wind. Feeling a little uncomfortable, she tried to make her way back by walking away from the sea, hoping that she would get back to where the bridge was.

After a bit of walking, Neptune was pretty sure that she had taken more footsteps away from the sea than she had towards it, and yet the garden was still nowhere to be seen. Feeling nervous that she might have been lost, she started to take off and run towards where she came from.

"Stop right there!" Neptune heard someone yelling at her.

She halted her footsteps and turned around. She saw someone running towards her, with a sword in hand, pointing at her direction. That person stopped just a few steps away from her.

Neptune looked carefully. The young person appeared to be about the same age as her, a little taller, with short, blonde hair, and dressed in a loose white linen tunic. She couldn't tell if it was a girl or a boy. Based on the deeper voice, she guessed that it was a boy. The young person seemed surprised and perturbed by her presence there.

"Who are you? How did you get here?" The blonde inquired.

"Where am I?" Neptune asked.

"Answer my questions!"

Not knowing who the person was, Neptune did not want to reveal her true identity. Perhaps  _he_  was a Uranian, but there could be a chance that it was an enemy pretending to be a Uranian and setting up a trap to capture her. After witnessing her parents' tragic passing, she learned to protect herself in any way she could and not to trust anyone easily. She wanted to get out of there without a confrontation or a fight, and return to the palace soon.

"I'm not an enemy."

"Then who are you?" The blonde persisted.

"Trust me, I'm not-"

"Perhaps I should find out with my sword then."  _He_  interrupted and stepped closer. The sword was now closer to Neptune's chest.

Neptune remained calmed but she was ready to fight if necessary. She was hoping to calm down the person in front of her so that she could figure out how to get out of there.

"Fine. I'm a visitor, from Neptune," Neptune answered.

The blonde hesitated a little.

"Are you Princess Neptune?"  _He_  asked.

"No," Neptune replied quickly, hoping that the prompt response would remove that doubt.

With head tilted slightly, the young blonde was still waiting for a more elaborated answer.

"I'm the bodyguard of Princess Neptune," Neptune made up an answer.

"What are you doing here?"

"I don't how I got here. I was in Rosalind Garden and…and a portal appeared on the bridge and I walked past it."

"Did you know this is a forbidden territory in Uranus?" The blonde asked with a raised voice.

"Had I knew this I wouldn't have stepped through that portal. Now can you show me the way back to the garden, please?" Neptune was getting a little impatient.

"Humph, let's make a deal then,"  _He_  said. "Since you're a bodyguard, you should have great combat skill. If you can beat me, I'll lead you the way back there."

"But-"

Before Neptune could say another word, the blonde began to charge at her.

Neptune was not prepared for this. She did not expect to fight a random Uranian, or an unknown person or even an enemy during her visit. Plus she wasn't really a bodyguard and practically had no melee combat skill. Her only power came from her senshi training at Sao Arcane Sanctum and her Deep Aqua Mirror. She was pretty sure that her Mirror could fend off the attack but she could not use it until she exhausted all her options.

The tweenager was brisk and powerful with the sword and exercised  _his_  combat skill masterfully. All Neptune could do was to dodge the attacks while trying to figure out how to stop this unnecessary confrontation.

"Please stop! I didn't come here to fight!" Neptune yelled.

The aqua-haired princess could barely hold off the attack. She was sidestepping and eluding in order to avoid being struck by the sword. Surprisingly, her Deep Aqua Mirror hidden under her clothes seemed to be guiding her subtly by accurately predicting the moves of her opponent. The fact she could dodge all of the strikes successfully surprised her. However, it seemed to impress her opponent as well.

"You're pretty good, huh?" The blonde said, catching a breath. "No one was able to hold off my sword for this long."

The tweenager decided to maneuver  _his_  sword with more advanced moves. Neptune startled. She continued to take the defensive side and tried her best not to launch an attack.

Suddenly, the wind picked up and sent a strong tailwind towards Neptune as she tried to take a step back to dodge another strike. The wind force was too strong and created almost like a wall behind her, preventing her movement. There was nothing she could have done but to watch the blonde and  _his_ sword lunging forcefully at her.

Luckily,  _he_  stopped just in time, and the sword came to a halt right at her chest, without inflicting an injury. The two tweenagers stood froze as it happened.

Neptune fell down onto the sand when the wind slowed down and her body still responded to her command to move backward. She panted heavily, realizing that she was almost seriously harmed.

"Ha! I won!" The blonde proclaimed, lowering the sword.  _He_  smiled, held out a hand for Neptune to help her get back up on her feet. "Look at how tense you are. You really thought I was going to hurt you?"

"Fine, you won. Now can you lead me back to the garden?" Neptune said as she got up.

"But you didn't win," The tweenager said with  _his_  eyebrows raised.  _He_  skillfully slipped the sword back into the scabbard suspended from the marine blue belt. With arms crossed,  _he_  let out a cheeky grin and said, "Looks like there's no good fighter on Neptune. Your princess must not stand a chance facing enemies."

Furious at the derogatory remarks, Neptune held out her hand to hurl an air wave towards the blonde and sent  _him_  down onto the sand. As the tweenager fell, she immediately dove forward and pulled out  _his_  sword from the scabbard, and pointed the weapon towards  _him_ , the same way as _he_  did to her before.

"My princess or I can take your princess down on any given day!" Neptune cried.

The blonde was shocked by the powerful wave, but more amazed by how strong and brisk the aqua-haired girl was. But something also didn't seem right.

"How can a bodyguard have such power-"  _He_  wondered.

"I'm done playing with you. Now get me out of here!" Neptune interrupted the young blonde.

The tweenager looked at the sword pointing at  _his_  chest, and then smiled wickedly at Neptune.  
"What if I don't help you? Are you going to hurt me?" The tweenager inquired.

Feeling helpless, Neptune lost her calmness.

"What is this place?! Who are you?! If it's forbidden then why are _you_  here?" Neptune questioned.

"I asked you questions first. I'm not answering yours until you answer mine," The blonde remained calm with a smile on  _his_  face.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do." Neptune said. She tapped the tip of the sword on her opponent's shoulder, "I  _will hurt_ you if I have to."

"Humph. What will your princess say if she knows that you hurt a Uranian?" The blonde negotiated calmly.  _He_  seemed to know that Princess Neptune was destined to protect Uranian as Neptunian.

"Well, I'm a bodyguard. My job is to protect my princess. I have no interest in the wellbeing of Uranian," Neptune made up an answer again.

The young blonde burst into laughter.

"Why are you laughing?" Neptune demanded.

No response coming from the young blonde except more laughter. Neptune was angry and frustrated at this point. She really needed to return to the castle soon. Bluffing or not, the laughter was pushing her over the edge. She shoved the sword further, and the tweenager was shocked by her action.  _He_ did not anticipate an attack coming from her.  _His_  white linen immediately started to dye in red.

"Aww!" The young blonde cried.

"Oh no! I-I'm so sorry!" Neptune exclaimed as she realized her own action. She dropped the sword immediately and crawled closer to  _him_. "I…I didn't mean to-"

"It's…it's okay,"  _he_  said, wincing from the pain.

"No, let me see," Neptune said nervously and examined the fresh wound on  _his_  shoulder. She could have healed this minor cut with her Mirror, but she couldn't take out her talisman for this purpose as she had to keep her promise. This poor child in front of her just had to heal with time.

"Let me help you." The young princess grabbed a handkerchief from her pocket to help stop the bleeding and cleaning up the wound. Luckily it wasn't a deep cut.

"This is Princess Uranus's retreat, the Oberon," the blonde said as Neptune was taking care of  _his_  wound. "No one is supposed to come here uninvited."

"I apologize. I shouldn't have come in here and caused a scene," Neptune said as she felt guilty for her actions.

"No, it was my fault too. I was bluffing and fooling you the whole time." The young blonde said.

Neptune looked at the tweenager, and then a knowing smile appeared on her face.  
"So we'll just call it even then?"

"Deal. I won't tell my Princess," the tween smiled.

Neptune smiled. As she continued to care for the injury, she could tell that the blonde had  _his_  marine blue eyes gazing at her visage.

"What are you looking at?" Neptune asked, briefly looking over.

"I am thinking, you must have been mistaken for Princess Neptune before."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you do look like a princess,"  _he_  said.

Neptune grew quiet, hoping that it was an innocent comment and her identity was not revealed. She needed to come up with something more believable in case she ran into  _him_ again later.

"Well, Princess Neptune could use a doppelgänger, right? Her bodyguard would be the best person for the job." She answered.

The only response that came from the young blonde was  _his_ admiring eyes _._

"Well, have you seen Princess Uranus?"

The blonde stayed quiet.

"Hmm?"

"I seldom do,"  _he_  answered, "I guard the retreat, and Princess doesn't come here often."

"So who are you?" She asked.

"I..I'm the son of the commandant-general. Haruka is my name. What about you?"

"I'm Princess Neptune's bodyguard. I've told you already."

"I know that. What about your name?"

Neptune looked away briefly, hesitating.  
"Michiru," she made up an answer again.

"Nice to meet you Michiru," the young blonde said with a genuine smile.

"I'm not sure if it's  _that_  nice after you held me at sword point, and I injured you," Neptune chuckled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like Miranda and Triton castles which were named after the moons of Uranus and Neptune, the names of the building/structures and some other characters in this story were also adapted from the names of other moons of their respective planets.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Clarification** : _Haruka_ and _Michiru_ are pseudo-identities that Princess Uranus and Princess Neptune created when they first met and introduced to each other. They haven't met officially in their real identities yet. Uranus acted as Haruka, the son of the commandant-general of Uranus, and Neptune acted as Michiru, the bodyguard of Princess Neptune. The pseudo-names are mentioned based on the princesses' perspective.

"So, Michiru, are you ready to leave the Oberon?" Haruka asked.

"Yes!" Neptune said excitedly, "I really need to get back to the castle to-"

Before Neptune slipped the truth out of her mouth, she paused. Haruka looked at her, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"-to help Princess Neptune get ready." She finished her sentence with the only answer she was supposed to provide given her bodyguard identity.

"Get ready? For what?"

"For her meeting with Princess Uranus."

Haruka chortled. Neptune's cheek felt warm as she could not grasp why the blonde was laughing, but she hoped that  _he_  was not discrediting the validity of her answer.

"What's so funny?"

"Who needs a bodyguard to get ready? Your Princess sounds really high maintenance," Haruka said with an amused tone. "I guess that's why she's a princess."

"Haruka, careful with your uninformed accusation on my Princess or I'll-" Neptune warned raising her voice and one hand.

"Michiru, I'm just kidding," Haruka said, catching her wrist.  _He_  couldn't help but laugh at how protective Michiru was to her princess. It seemed interesting that Michiru's bodyguard duties extended beyond physical protection.

"And for my own safety and your princess's, it's probably better for you to stay out of the Oberon," Haruka suggested.

"I agree," Neptune said, "You should have gotten me out of here when I first asked you to."

"Come on, follow me."

The wavy haired princess followed Haruka as  _he_  led the way. Soon the sound of waves faded, the sands under their feet vanished, and flowers and trees reappeared. Neptune found herself walking on limestone again and the bridge was not far from her sight.

"Wow." Neptune was astonished by the change of scene again.

Haruka held out one hand with palm facing up. Slowly a small circular transparent light formed on  _his_  palm, raised into the air and dilated into the transparent portal. The two tweenagers walked through it together.

"Thank you," Neptune said, looking at Haruka with a smile.

"Hey, don't let me catch you in the Oberon uninvited again, or you would really have to beat me before I let you out," Haruka warned jokingly.

"But I  _did_  beat you," Neptune argued.

"That wasn't real combat skill," Haruka said, shaking  _his_ head. "You-"

The blonde stopped in the middle of  _his_  sentence.  _He_  seemed to be startled and bothered by something nearby.

"Hmm?"

Haruka did not respond. There was a wary look in  _his_ marine blue eyes.

"Haruka, what were you going to say?"

"Nevermind." The tweenager said, returning  _his_  attention to Neptune. "Michiru, it's getting late now. I'm sure your princess is waiting. I can't stay out here for too long neither. Take care."

Neptune nodded.

"Bye Haruka!" Princess Neptune smiled and waved farewell to the blonde tween, before making her way into the garden.

When Michiru disappeared from sight, Uranus transformed, summoned her Space Sword and held onto the tilt of her sword in a tight grip. The blonde princess caught a glimpse of a dark shadow behind Michiru as she was talking to her. The shadow was lurking behind the trees.

She stood on the garden bridge where she bid farewell to Michiru. She remained still as she knew that something was wandering nearby. The day was getting dark but she listened carefully to the rustling leaves for clues and waited for action; she was ready to fight.

Uranus stood there and waited, but her opponent seemed to have changed its mind. Rustling sounds continued to be heard but she could tell that they were produced from the wind instead. The dark energy she sensed earlier diminished, and eventually faded away.

She de-transformed and dismissed her Sword but stayed vigilant of her surrounding as she made her way back to her apartment. She could not sense anything unusual at this point but was not completely comfortable knowing that an enemy had entered her territory and she did not have the chance to take it out.

Soon the blonde princess passed by a small pond. Something caught her eyes. It looked like there was a book sitting on the bench. She walked over there to take a closer look. She picked up the book and flipped through it. It was a sketchbook, each page filled with beautiful sketches of places and gardens. Most of those places she didn't recognize, and then in the last few pages there were sketches of a few spots in Rosalind Garden. Uranus was amazed by the artistic quality of the artwork and wondered who the book belonged to. She didn't remember if there was anyone in the castle who particularly liked to draw or sketch, but based on the unfamiliar places on the sketchbook, she assumed that it came from someone outside of Uranus. It seemed like the only possible owners were recent visitors of Miranda Castle. It could be Princess Neptune, Michiru, or other Neptunian who traveled with them. So far she had only met Michiru.

"Sure, Michiru does look like a princess, but that feisty little bodyguard probably can't produce such artistic work." Uranus thought to herself and chuckled. She continued to flip through the pages and devoted her attention to the sketches. She started to study each page and appreciated the fine details and finishes of each drawing.

Suddenly, there were ghostly footsteps approaching Uranus from behind but the short haired princess did not take notice until a youma encircled her shoulders abruptly. The sketchbook immediately flew out her hands and dropped on the grass. Uranus struggled to free herself from the grip to no avail. The enemy clutched onto her tightly and gradually squeezed tauter.

Uranus felt a sharp pain on her shoulder. It was coming from the pressure applying on her newly inflicted wound. Her white linen began to stain in red again. The enemy wasn't too powerful and she could have easily overpowered it in her normal state, but with an injury she found herself struggling to overtake the monster.

She knew that there was only one way to set herself free. As she continued to wrestle with the youma, she raised her hand to summon her Space Sword again. The gems on the sword created beaming lights and blinded the youma. It loosened its grip around Uranus's shoulders and the blonde princess immediately leapt away from it. She briskly turned around, transformed, lifted her arm up and sent World Shaking attack at the direction of the youma. The enemy let out a scream and vaporized into the air.

Uranus remained in the garden and browsed around to make sure that there was no more youma nearby. When she confirmed that the garden was free of enemy again, she sat on the bench, examined the wound on her shoulder and tried to cope with the pain.

Soon the butler came running over to her.

"Princess! Are you okay?" He asked. "I heard some activities in the garden."

"I'm fine," Uranus winced and answered, "I just took out a youma."

"Your Highness, your shoulder…" The butler was shocked to see the injury on the princess's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it."

"I’ll go notify the apothecary-"

"No," she waved her hand dismissively, "It's nothing."

Uranus knew that informing the apothecary would draw attentions in the castle, and most likely not a good idea when she had visitors there.

"How can I help then?"

"Don't let anyone know about this, especially our visitors," Uranus said. "I can't meet with Neptune for the first time like this. Let her know we'll have to connect again another time."

The butler nodded and Uranus retreated to the Oberon.

Neptune returned to the guest chamber. She realized that she had spent a long time at the garden and the Oberon. According to the agenda, she was supposed to have dinner with Princess Uranus at sunset and she was running late already. She quickly went through the wardrobe to pick a dress. She chose a beige chiffon dress with a golden bow sash on the waist. After checking herself in the mirror one last time, the aqua-haired princess left the guest chamber and headed over to the state dining room.

Neptune arrived at the elegant room with a long dining table sitting in the middle of the room. The table was decorated with freshly picked colorful flowers from the garden, and tableware was set perfectly. The butler was standing in front of the table, waiting for her. He walked up to her with a graceful bow.

"Good Evening Princess Neptune, it's nice to see you."

"Thank you." Neptune responded.

"Are you ready for your evening meal?"

Princess Neptune nodded with a smile.

"Marvelous. Please have a seat," He carefully pulled out one of the dining chairs for the aqua-haired young princess and assisted her to get seated. He then gestured the servants to deliver beverage and food to the table.

But Neptune gestured the servant to stop the service instead.

"Where is Princess Uranus?"

"I'm afraid that Princess Uranus won't be here soon. She has to take care of something at the moment," the butler answered.

"I will wait for her then," Neptune said.

The butler hesitated, and then explained, "I'm sorry Princess Neptune, our princess won't be back in a short period of time."

Neptune stood up from her seat and asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Y-yes, everything is fine," The butler said. He seemed to know the reason but just wouldn't disclose it. As he saw the doubtful look on Neptune's face, he went on to clarify, "Just an unexpected matter that required princess's undivided attention. Princess Neptune, I can assure you that our princess would love to be here right now."

"That's okay. I understand. I look forward to meeting her next time then," said Neptune with a smile, maintaining her polite mannerism. She got up and left the state dining room.

The aqua-haired princess was disappointed. She couldn't help but wonder if Uranus was upset at her for being a little late, or if she didn’t want to meet with her.

Neptune went back to the guest chamber, changed back into her casual outfit and prepared for her return to Neptune. As she was packing up, she realized that she had left her sketchbook on a bench in Rosalind Garden, and forgot to retrieve it on her way back from the Oberon.

The aqua-haired young lady went out to the garden again looking for her sketchbook. Even though it was dark at outside and the garden was large, she had no problem remembering her way to the bench by the pond where she sat and sketched in the afternoon.

She got to the bench and found the sketchbook lying on the grass, opened half way through. It looked like someone had flipped through the pages and then accidentally dropped it there. She picked it up and examined each page to make sure her sketches were not damaged.

Suddenly, she sensed some activities nearby. Her intuition told her that it could be an enemy sent from the Dark Kingdom. At the same time, the transparent portal reappeared in front of her. Neptune was not expected to see the portal came in sight there.

No…not again! Neptune thought.

After what happened earlier, she decided that she wouldn't walk through it again. She had no intention to step into the boundary where she was not supposed to cross or engage in a combat with that blonde tween again.

She remained quiet, continuing to sense the dark energy nearby her. The rim of the portal glowed again; it was more obvious now since it had gotten dark.

A youma crept up to Neptune from her side but she was prepared for the confrontation. She summoned her Deep Aqua Mirror and held it facing her enemy. The Mirror started beaming and sent a strong light towards the youma.

However, her enemy was not going after her. It dodged her light and quickly escaped into the portal. Neptune was surprised by that move. She hesitated, trying to debate whether it was a good idea to enter the portal again. She then remembered that Haruka was at the Oberon and worried that the young blonde civilian would not be able to defend  _himself_ against the youma.

Neptune immediately transformed, followed through the gateway, and chased after the enemy.

She continued running and trying to locate the youma. Soon the garden transformed into a beach again but the youma was nowhere to be found. Standing with her feet in the sand, all she could saw was the view of wide sandy beach and all she could hear was the echoing sound of ocean waves. She had lost track of the enemy. She looked into her Deep Aqua Mirror and tried to find clues, but the Mirror was not showing her any signs of dark energy nearby. Neptune still felt unease as she wanted to take out the enemy and not leaving it inside the Oberon. She knew that Princess Uranus could eliminate it easily, but the Oberon guard _, Haruka_  the Uranian civilian, might not stand a chance.

The aqua-haired princess was concerned about Haruka's safety. She had to find the young blonde before the youma did. She ran along on the beach and continued her search.

Minutes after running at her fastest pace, Neptune still couldn't find traces of Haruka nor the enemy.

The Guardian of the Sea went on for a quite some time and eventually saw a cabana nearby. She cautiously proceeded towards it and caught a glimpse of someone sitting in the cabin. She approached closer and found that the person looked like someone she had met earlier. It was Haruka. She saw the young tween putting a hand on the shoulder and was seemingly in pain.

She quickly de-transformed and dismissed her Deep Aqua Mirror and ran up to Haruka.

"Haruka?" Neptune said.

The young blonde looked over to the source calling  _his_  name, and was surprised to see Neptune at the Oberon again.

"What are you doing here? Didn't I say not to come here uninvited?" Haruka questioned.  _He_ seemed annoyed with her presence, as much as the first time when she showed up there.

"Are you okay?" Neptune asked with a frown on her face as she was approaching. "W-what happened to your shoulder? Did you get hurt again?!"

"Michiru, I've told you already, you're not supposed to-" Haruka tried to reason with the aqua-haired young princess.

"Tell me what happened," Neptune asked nervously, ignoring Haruka's questions and comments. She carefully examined the wound on the young blonde's shoulder, and said to herself, "How is it possible? It didn't look like this earlier."

"It's nothing," The young blonde said, trying to hide the wound by pulling the tunic higher toward  _his_  neck. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

Neptune felt even guiltier for causing the injury in the first place. She tried to think of ways to heal this without using her Mirror.

Suddenly, the two grew quiet. Both felt a dark energy approaching. Neptune stepped forward towards the source of that energy. She was ready to fight the youma herself, but the young blonde quickly got up and stood in front of her instead.

"Stay back," Haruka ordered, "I've got this."

"No, Haruka you're injured!" Neptune protested. That was one of the reasons, but in reality she knew that she was more equipped to fight an enemy and defend a civilian than the other way around.

As the two started debating on who should take on the enemy, the youma re-surfaced in front of them. It lunged towards Haruka who stood closer to it by sending a ranged fire attack towards the blonde. It immediately blazed the injury on  _his_  shoulder. Haruka cried at the encounter.

"Watch out Haruka!" Neptune warned. She pulled Haruka back and hurled a wave toward the youma. The wave hit the enemy directly and she was able to buy more time to settle Haruka in a safe place.

Neptune hauled the young blonde into the cabana and laid  _him_ down onto the day bed.  
"Stay here and don't move." Neptune ordered.

But Haruka refused to listen,  _he_  tried to get up despite the severe pain on  _his_  shoulder.

"No Michiru, you have no idea-"  
  
" _You_  have no idea!" The aqua-haired princess hissed, "Stay here and don't make a sound!"  
  
Haruka wanted to fight, but  _his_  wound was burning badly and Neptune would not let  _him_  get up. Knowing that arguing would probably be the most foolish way to get both of them wiped out, the stubborn young blonde finally decided to cave in and obeyed Neptune's command.  _He_  nodded reluctantly.

Neptune ran out quickly and lured the enemy to follow her away from the cabana. They stood close to the sea now.

When Neptune was away from Haruka, she transformed and summoned her Mirror again and sent a beaming light towards the youma, weakening the enemy's vitality. With the sounds of waves crashing on the beach, Neptune raised her arms and called for Deep Submerge to send crashing waves towards the youma. The enemy let out a painful scream and vanished into the air. The last youma that entered the Uranuian territory that night was eliminated.

Once the enemy was taken out, Neptune de-transformed and sent her Mirror away and went back to the cabana to check on Haruka. The blonde tween was in deep pain with the burning wound, yet  _he_ stayed quiet and tried  _his_  best not to even let out a groan of pain.

Neptune couldn't help but chuckle that Haruka really stayed quiet for this long.

"We're safe now," Neptune informed, "you can scream if it hurts."

"Aww!" Haruka yelled in pain, wincing between  _his_  spoken words. "Michiru, you are just mean do you know that? You were the one who injured me and now you're laughing."

"I'm sorry," Neptune apologized. Before Haruka opened  _his_ eyes again she looked away for another quiet giggle. She then knelt down next to the bed and asked softly, "It must hurt a lot, right?"

"How…how did you take out the youma?" Haruka asked.

"Don't worry about it. I have my ways."

Haruka looked at her.  _He_ seemed to have more questions but was too painful to ask.

Neptune knew that this injury would take a while to heal, meaning Haruka would probably be out of duties for a while. Regardless of how the young blonde got reinjured again, she felt bad that she was the one who caused it in the first place and that  _his_ injury worsened when _he_ tried to shield her away from the youma. She decided that she would use her Mirror to heal the blonde tween.

"Close your eyes," Neptune instructed.

Haruka obeyed again, but as Neptune raised her hand, preparing to summon her Deep Aqua Mirror, the tweenager opened one eye slightly for a peek.

"Haruka, what did I say?" The wavy-haired princess scolded.

"Fine…" The young blonde said with a pout, before shutting  _his_  eyes again.

With Deep Aqua Mirror in hand, Neptune let the reflective side shine on the young blonde's injured shoulder. Slowly the burned skin was healed and the scar was removed. Haruka's frowns seemed to have eased as the Mirror performed its healing regimen.

"Can I open my eyes now?" The young blonde asked.  _He_  was curious about the feeling on  _his_  shoulder and wondered why the pain gradually receded and  _he_  wasn't hurting anymore.

"Hold on," Neptune said, quickly dismissing her Mirror again. "Okay."

Haruka opened  _his_  eyes, and was shocked to see the skin on _his_ shoulder. Although the white linen tunic was still stained with blood, there was no sign of cut or burn scar on the shoulder anymore. There was a look of disbelief on  _his_  face, but before  _he_  could ask any question, Neptune denied that opportunity.

"How do you feel now?" Neptune asked.

"Better. I'm not that weak," Haruka assured.

The young aqua haired princess smiled, feeling relieved.

"Just to be clear, you didn't hurt me  _that_  much. My injury came from other sources," Haruka declared.

Haruka's comment was immediately met with raised eyebrows from Neptune.

"You would have been gone for good if I weren't here!" Neptune yelled. "I should have just left you here with the youma."

Before Haruka spoke another word, the aqua-haired princess interrupted, "And just to be clear, I didn't use my full force on you! If I had you wouldn't even be talking right now." 

"Well I didn't know you were going to attack me! If I had known I would have dodged it easily, and avoided that fire attack!" Haruka argued.

"Fine then, since you're better already, let's have a duel," Neptune suggested.

"That's easy. I'll win, any time."

"No, I will. And I won't even have to try hard."

"This time I won't let you out of here until you can really prove yourself," Haruka stated confidently.

"You'll be sorry for your words. I won't even leave until you beg me to," Neptune replied indignantly.

Neptune and Haruka started arguing.


	3. Chapter 3

More than a year went by after Neptune's first visit to her senshi partner’s planet, the plan to reconnect had been put off. Not only enemies sent from the Dark Kingdom had been manageable, the two princesses were also occupied with their individual trainings, and dealing with internal matters on their own planets.

In reality, Princesses Neptune and Uranus were both capable of handling the attacks and defending their planets individually without requesting for each other's assistance. They both saw little reasons to attempt to unite again to discuss collaborating plan in the near future. They saw the meeting more of a formality and obligation rather than a demand to form a fighting ally, but that soon was about to change.

* * *

**977, Altar of Darkness**

Queen Beryl was briefed with the recent assaults. The commander of the Dark Kingdom was discontent with all the failed attempts and wasted efforts in invading the outer solar system.

"I need results! How many times do I have to emphasize that?" The red-haired Queen yelled. She clenched her fists resting on the arms of her throne, "If I can't vanquish the two young princesses soon, they would only be bigger problems for me in the future. I can't afford to wait until those two meet up and mature their talismans. They would be too strong by then, and too hard to be taken out."

"I agree," Her advisor responded, "but if we send stronger troops to either planet, that would drive them to team up sooner. We should continue to prevent them from collaborating."

Queen Beryl huffed and asked with an amused air, "Oh? And how is  _that_  working out so far?"

Her advisor stayed embarrassingly quiet.

"What about Pluto? I heard she was recently given an Orb. What was that about?"

The advisor speculated that the Garnet Orb, one of the new talismans that was added to Pluto's Garnet Rod, might be used in conjunction with Space Sword and Deep Aqua Mirror in order to call upon or summon something much more powerful for the guardians.

"If that's the case then we need to stop them, the sooner the better."

"But we can't afford to let them meet up and enhance each other's power," Her advisor warned.

"Three princesses…" Queen Beryl whispered.

The red-haired Queen pondered, and then a sly smile appeared on her face.

* * *

**Triton Castle**

Princess Neptune spent the last days meeting an ambassador from Moon Castle. Queen Serenity had sent an ambassador to visit Neptune to discuss a few political matters and select a painting from Neptune's collection for her art gallery as an appreciation of her artistic talent.

They took a tour of the Castle, Thalassa Garden, Psamathe Beach, Nereid Music Conservatory, Galatea Art School, Proteus Research Center, Sao Arcane Sanctum, Halimede Alchemy Lab, and just about anything that would showcase the artistic side of the planet, and at the same demonstrated the planet's devotion to research and development that could contribute to the benefits of other planets, since there were many rare and unique resources found on the planet.

The tour ended at the alchemy lab, as Neptune showed her ambassador some of the interesting developments that her dedicated team was working on.

"Your Highness, these are for you," The head of the alchemy lab said.  He handed over two small muslin bags and two colorful potions to the princess before she left.

"Lovely. Thank you," Neptune gracefully accepted the items.

"What are these?" The ambassador asked. He was curious.

"Some gifts for my friend at Venus," the wavy-haired princess responded.

* * *

**Magellan Castle, Venus**

Neptune took a visit to Venus to see one of her closest princess friends in the Inner Solar System.

Despite the distance between the two planets, the precedent rulers of the planets, the late parents of Princess Neptune and Venus, were actually long-standing friends before their passing, so the two princesses had met each other since they were toddlers. Neptune was a year older than Venus, and even though the two grew up in different environments and their personalities were unlike, the older princess had always looked after the younger one as her own sister.

"Neptune! I'm so glad to see you!" Princess Venus exclaimed. She welcomed her friend from the outer solar system at one of her drawing rooms.

"Venus, it's been a long time!" Neptune said, walking up to Venus and wrapping her hands around the hands of the long haired princess.

"Come here!" Venus said, freeing their hands and gave Neptune a passionate hug instead. "You look beautiful as always!"

"So do you," said Neptune, smiling warmly.

"How was your last visit to Uranus?" Venus asked. She couldn't wait to hear about it.

"Long story."

"I would love to hear about it! I love stories!" Venus stated.

"Sure, we'll save it for later," Neptune said. "I thought you might want to know that I brought your favorite beauty item this time."

"No, you didn't!" Venus gasped and cried, she then excitedly took Neptune's arm. "Come on, let's go! I can't wait! We can chat more after I put it on."

The two princesses went up to Venus's old playroom which had since been remodeled into a lavish dressing room. There was a grand crystal chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling. The old pretend-play vanity playset were removed and replaced by a real vanity set in ivory color, although the mirror mounted to the wall was still an oversized heart-shape. The mini ballroom area was rearranged and installed with closets that were filled with Venus's pretty clothes, shoes, and accessories. In the middle of the room, where a girly afternoon tea set with cart, table, and chairs once stood, now became space for a crystal mirrored coffee table. Surrounded it were a pink daybed, a light cream colored love seat and two porpoise ottomans. The only thing that remained was the large gold framed mirror leaning against one side of the wall. Neptune was amazed at how much the playroom had changed into since she last saw it.

"From a toy vanity set to a real one, not much of a change huh?" Neptune teased.

"Hey Neptune! Stop teasing me," Venus faked a sad face, and then continued, "Let's see what you've got!"

"Bring me a large bowl and a long spoon please."

Venus brought over a clear glass bowl and a long metal spoon and laid them onto the coffee table. Neptune opened one of the muslin bags with loose powder and poured the substance into the bowl, then uncorked one of the potions and added the content slowly to the substance. She stirred the mixture a bit more, and soon the concoction turned into a thicker consistency.

"This always looks amazing when you do it," Venus complimented.

"It gets better. Watch this."

The wavy-haired princess then opened the second muslin bag which contained finely grained powders and slowly blended them into the mixture in small batches. She continued to stir as the concoction gradually turned into a beautiful shade of blue.

"Neptune!" Venus gasped, "I can't believe you remembered to bring me cerulean blue!"

"Well, I almost forgot anyway," Neptune joked. "If it's easier you could always ask Mercury to get you something similar. I know she's quite a good chemist."

"I've tried Neptune, but the tone was just not the same!" Venus stated.

"I know," Neptune said confidently, "not only it needs the purest aquamarine, but I've also added a secret pigment to it."

"What is it?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Why?" Venus protested.

"Well, maybe I'll tell you if you pay me a visit next time," Neptune said mysteriously. She stopped stirring at this point as the ingredients were fully integrated into the batch.

"Now you can dip your fingers in it."

Venus followed Neptune's instruction. As the blonde-haired princess dyed her nails, the two princesses continued to chat and catch up with each other. The aqua-haired princess told Venus about her visit to Uranus and that she didn't get to meet Princess Uranus. She did not elaborate on meeting Haruka and their encounter at the Oberon.

"What a shame," Venus sighed.

"You think so? I think it's perfectly fine. I don't need an ally or a fighting partner anyway," Neptune said matter-of-factly.

"No, I don't mean that. I heard Princess Uranus is quite an interesting character to meet."

"Really," Neptune replied perfunctorily, wondering what could be so interesting about this mysterious princess that she  _hadn't_ met. All of the princesses from the solar system were known for their exquisite beauty and grace, and intelligence in their own way, not to mention their exceptional and unique ability to fight and defend their own planet. She didn't think she'd be surprised in any way even if she had the chance to meet Princess Uranus during her last visit.

"So what about you? What have you been up to?" Neptune tried to switch the topic.

Venus's eyes lit up.

"I met the cutest prince from a party last month," the blonde princess said. Her eyes looked almost like two heart shapes which made Neptune chuckle.

"Oh yeah? What is he like?"

"He has long silver hair and bright green eyes. Oh his eyes were so attractive," Venus said as her cheek flushed.

"So is he your crush then? You're clearly blushing," Neptune asked.

Venus was apparently too indulged in the appearance of that dreamy face to respond.

"Maybe…I think he likes green too," She said to herself, before returning her attention to Neptune. "Neptune, next time can you bring me aquamarine instead?"

"Fine," Neptune shook her head and smiled, "if you told me this earlier my life would have been much easier. Aquamarine is much easier to obtain than to get the perfect mix for cerulean blue."

Suddenly, Venus looked at Neptune curiously.

"Venus, I know we haven't seen each other for a long time, but this gaze is telling me that this is more than just you missing me."

The long haired princess giggled, "Neptune, have you thought about what your prince would look like?"

The wavy haired princess was caught off-guard by that question.

"What? No. I've never thought about that."

"Come on. You have to be attracted to certain characteristics or physical qualities."

The wavy-haired princess had no idea. She had always focused on her music and art, and her guardian duties. These thoughts had never come across her mind before.

"Hmm…" Neptune looked at Venus, drawing a blank.

"Tell me…" The blonde princess persisted like a curious kitten.

Neptune decided to joke with Venus instead by describing what she saw in front of her. With a mysterious smile, she said, "Maybe some blonde hair and blue eyes."

But Venus did not get the joke, her eyes danced around that idea.

"That's easy. There are plenty of them here on Venus! I can sure be your matchmaker."

Neptune chuckled. She took one of Venus's hands and started working on removing the excess wax on her fingertips. "Okay Princess Venus, one day if I do want to meet that special someone, I'll definitely take you up on the offer."

"Of course," Venus said, she then gestured the unopened jar with her other hand full of wax. "Hey what is that potion for?"

"Stay still," Neptune ordered, still working carefully on Venus's nails. "Didn't you want to try curly hair? I've got the alchemist to develop something that will last you more than just a few days."

Venus was excited, she forgot the waxes on her hands and reached out to give Neptune a warm hug. "Neptune you're the best!"

"Ugh Venus!" Neptune complained, "now we have to redo everything over again and I have to figure out how to get this sticky stuff off my dress."

"Sorry! But don't you worry," Venus said cheerfully with a wink, "I've got plenty of dresses here!"

Neptune shook her head. Sometimes she wished that she could be as carefree as the young princess.

* * *

**Charon Castle, Pluto**

While Neptune stayed at Venus for a short getaway, Princess Uranus was asked by Queen Serenity's counselor to get connected with Princess Pluto at Charon Castle. It was a short visit as the trip was ended earlier due to an attack on Nix (one of the moons of Pluto) sent by Queen Beryl in an attempt to disrupt Uranus's visit.

However, the timing of the attack was miscalculated. Uranus had arrived earlier than the agenda had originally planned for, and the attempt invasion resulted in providing an opportunity for Uranus and Pluto to fight together for the first time. The duo partnered exceptional well during the defense of Nix. The two princesses gained a valuable experience getting familiarized with each other's style and strength. Pluto, the older princess, planned their response to the enemy together with Uranus but actually let the blonde princess take the lead in executing the plan at the battlefield.

During the defensive battle, Uranus also learned that Pluto possessed the Garnet Orb, another talisman similar to her Space Sword and Neptune's Deep Aqua Mirror. Pluto briefly mentioned to Uranus that the three talismans would summon a powerful weapon but did not elaborate further.

* * *

**978, Triton Castle**

It was almost three years since Neptune's first attempt to visit her senshi partner at Miranda Castle, Queen Serenity's counselor encouraged Neptune to take another visit again to meet and discuss their partnership. The wavy-haired princess agreed but had a different idea instead.

"Do you think Princess Uranus want come to here instead? That way I can show her around Triton too. Maybe she'd be interested in seeing some of our works here," Neptune suggested.

"Your Highness," Lady Despina said, "please listen to the Queen Serenity. Her Majesty must have her reason for wanting you to go there instead."

"I guess," Neptune said as she looked outside the window. Miranda Castle was far from where she could see from her naked eyes, but after her last visit she thought it might be a good idea for her to host the  _unmet_  princess on her own planet instead.

Suddenly Neptune found herself agreeing with Lady Despina.

"I actually do need to go to Miranda Castle. One of my sketchbooks is still there and I need to retrieve it," Neptune said.

"That's a good enough reason to go there again," Lady Despina said, smiling.

* * *

**Miranda Castle**

Neptune and her travel companions arrived at Uranus earlier than planned. They purposely did because Neptune wanted to search for her sketchbook.

By the time they arrived, Princess Uranus was out training again, with this time at Cordelia Naval Station.

"It's wonderful to see you again Princess Neptune, but I regret to inform you that our princess is away. She has been training at the naval station for a few days; she is scheduled to return this afternoon." The butler of Miranda Castle said.

"I understand, we arrived early anyway," Neptune replied.

"Is there anything I can assist you with to make your stay more comfortable?"

"Actually, I could use some help."

"I'm all ears."

"Would you happen to know if a sketchbook was ever found in Rosalind Garden? I accidentally left it there last time. I know it has been a while but I thought I'd check just in case anyone had seen it."

"I'm sorry. I am not aware of such lost item. But you're welcome to look around and ask our gardener if you wish," the butler replied.

"No worries. I'll take a look at the garden then. Thank you."

Neptune changed into a long-sleeved dress, put on a pair of riding boots, and went out to the garden. She went back to the bench near the small pond. As expected the sketchbook was nowhere to be found. She continued to browse around relaxingly, appreciating the same serene scene that she saw last time. She explored a bit more, and followed the garden trail until she came to a lookout which was situated at the summit of the castle. There were beautiful flowers bloomed on both sides of the trail, one side golden and the other side zaffre blue.

The aqua-haired princess stopped and took a closer look at the flowers.

"These are the floral emblems of our planet." Neptune heard someone spoke in the near distance. She quickly looked over and saw someone walking up to her.

"They are beautiful," the wavy haired princess complimented.

"Yes, the golden ones are Duranta Erecta, known as the Skyflowers, representing love and courage; and the blue ones are Anemone, known as the Windflowers, symbolizing trust and loyalty."

"I appreciate the information," said Neptune with a smile.

"Sorry. Let me introduce myself. I'm the gardener of Rosalind Garden. I assume you are a visitor here," the gardener said.

"Yes, I'm a visitor from Neptune."

As Neptune stood at the lookout, Princess Uranus and her naval force were returning to the base. The blonde princess stood on the bridge of the ship and spotted someone at the summit of the castle. She looked closely with a telescope and saw that it was the aqua-haired girl whom she met over two years ago.

Once she disembarked the battleship, she ordered that no one was allowed to follow her or step into Rosalind Garden until she gave her permission to do so.

Neptune continued to chat with the gardener for a while, learning more about the botany of the flowers in Rosalind Garden. She was intrigued to learn that some of them, like the Skyflowers, were consumable and provided healing therapy; while some others like the Windflowers were for topical use as pain relievers. Belinda Apothecary would harvest them during a specific time of the year and refine them for medical uses.

The wavy haired princess got so carried away and forgot to inquire the whereabouts of her sketchbook. She knelt down and picked up one of the flowers that had fallen onto the ground, and studied it closely as the gardener stood behind her.

Uranus made her way up to the summit shortly. When the gardener saw her, he bowed but the blonde princess gestured him not to make a sound and sent him away quietly. She didn't want to reveal her princess identity, and decided that she would greet Michiru in her own way.

The aqua-haired girl took a sniff of the golden Skyflower and smiled.

"This one smells dewy and dreamy," she said.

"It's clearly a violation of the Uranian law to pick floral emblem in Miranda Castle," Uranus stated coldly.

Michiru startled. She quickly turned around and realized that the gardener was gone, standing in front of her was the blonde teen with arms crossed.

"What's going on? What are you doing here?" Michiru asked.

"Good questions. What are  _you_ doing here? What business do  _you_  have wandering in this area?"

Uranus's sharp words successfully ticked off the wavy-haired girl. Now Michiru was in a contentious mode.

"I asked you questions first," she argued.

"That doesn't mean I need to answer you," Uranus responded with a smirk on her face.

Michiru shook her head, looking annoyed.

"Let’s pretend we didn't run into each other then," the aqua-haired girl said.  She started walking away from Uranus.

But the blonde princess was much quicker than her. She immediately stood in front of Michiru, blocking her access to the trail.

"I can't let you go."

"Why not?"

"You're not allowed to pick or remove flowers from the garden," Uranus stated.

Michiru looked down at the golden flower in her hand, she then stared at Uranus.

"This was fallen onto the ground, okay? I didn't pick it," Michiru defended.

She reached for Uranus' hand and held it up.

"Here you go, keep it," said Michiru, placing the golden Skyflower on Uranus's palm. "And now you can stop the accusation."

Uranus's eyes widened. She stood stunned by that action while Michiru walked around her and continued her way towards where she came from. The blonde princess looked at the flower in her hand, recalling the meaning of giving someone Skyflowers. (as it represented  _love_  and courage)

Once she realized that Michiru was farther away from her, she quickly shook herself out of that thought. She told herself that Michiru was just a visitor from Neptune. She was sure that the bodyguard was just giving her the flower out of not wanting to be accused of picking the Uranian floral emblem.

She ran after Michiru.

"Wait," Uranus yelled from afar.

"What do you want now?" The wavy-haired girl seemed annoyed at being followed, "I've given you back the flower already."

"I…" Uranus did not know what to say. Should she tell Michiru about the meaning of that action? Or let her keep the flower? Wait, she couldn't give it back to her because as a Uranian, giving Skyflowers would be a declaration of love. It couldn't happen like this. She barely knew this girl standing in front of her.

Michiru seemed to be contemplating something. Then she began.

"I've got to go, and you have no right to stop me," she said sharply.

"W-what do you mean by that?" Uranus asked disbelievingly. That was the definitely other way around on the Uranian soil.

"I don't even know who you are," she said.

"What?! I'm-" Uranus almost slipped out the truth. She was  _Haruka_ , she reminded herself inwardly.

"You forgot who I am already?" The blonde princess asked. There was a look of bewilderment on her face.

"I don't think we've ever met."

Never met? Michiru-lookalike? Wasn't Michiru the doppelgänger of Princess Neptune? So this girl standing in front of her was…Neptune?! Uranus started debating in her head over who the girl standing in front of her was. She looked like the same girl she met few years ago, she looked more mature but definitely wasn't a completely different person. Was Michiru just playing a trick on her or did she meet the real princess instead?

She decided to put it to a test.

"Pardon me, may I ask if you are Princess Neptune?" Uranus asked in a more polite tone, in her Haruka identity.

No response came from the girl standing in front of her.

"Would you please prove to me with your talisman? Sorry for the abrupt request, but there have been quite a few self-proclaimed princesses of Neptune here. I'm concerned that some of them are up to no good. For the safety of everyone in Miranda Castle, I have to make sure that the garden is clear of enemies."

"That's your problem then. I don't need to prove anything to anyone."

"I'm sorry, this order came from Princess Uranus," Uranus said respectfully.

"Then I'll show your princess when I see her."

"Unfortunately I have to see it now before I let you go."

"I'm not debating with you on this," the wavy-haired girl continued to walk away.

Uranus blocked her again near the pond.

"You're Michiru. I won't believe otherwise until I see the Deep Aqua Mirror."

No response came from the princess or the princess lookalike. Instead of debating further, she glared at Uranus, waiting for her words and plan of action. The blonde princess gestured her to sit by the bench. She obliged and sat on one end while Uranus took the other end.

"You're going to stay here until Princess Neptune shows up to claim you back. I can't believe you have the gut to fake her – you're going to be in big trouble," Uranus teased her with an amused tone. She gloated over her success in calling out the princess impostor.

The princess lookalike heaved a sigh but remained silent. She relaxingly looked at the pond and seemed to be in no hurry to leave all of a sudden. She also seemed very interested in the colorful water lilies on the pond. After a while, she said, without looking at Uranus, "I'm waiting for Michiru to come rescue me, and then I'll explain to Princess Uranus the reason for my tardiness in meeting her."

Her words gave Uranus a pause. What if she really _was_ Neptune? That wouldn't make a good first meeting. She needed another confirmation.

She took out a small sketchbook from her pocket.

"Is this yours?" Uranus asked, presenting it to the wavy-haired girl.

"My sketchbook!" She gasped and exclaimed.

Uranus held the book tightly in her hand as the aqua-haired girl tried to reach for it.

"Hold on. Are you able to tell me all the places  _you_  sketched in this book? I'll believe that you're the real princess if you can describe everything you drew," Uranus suggested, believing that Princess Neptune, instead of Michiru, was the owner of the sketchbook.

To Uranus's surprise, the wavy-haired girl had no problem remembering every page of the entire sketchbook. Without even looking at a single page, one by one she described all the places to Uranus, from Galatea Art School to Halimede Alchemy Lab. Even though the pages were sketched in graphite pencils, the aqua-haired girl described everything in great detail – the colors, the surroundings, and the ambiance of the places. As Uranus listened to the details, the scenes of the places sketched on the book appeared vividly in her imagination.

She felt as if she had taken a tour of Triton Castle and all those places on Neptune already.

The blonde princess had nothing but admiration for the artistic talent and the prolific storytelling ability of the girl sitting on the other end of the bench. Not to mention she apparently had photographic memory as well.

Suddenly Uranus snapped the sketchbook closed.

"We haven't gotten to the last page yet."

Uranus stood up from the bench and walked over to her.

"You  _are_ Princess Neptune," She bowed politely to the wavy-haired girl and handed the sketchbook to her in both hands, "please pardon my churlish words and request earlier."

A warm smile appeared on the aqua-haired girl's face. She accepted the sketchbook from Uranus gracefully.

"Thank you. I actually have something for you, if you're willing to accept it," The aqua-haired girl said with a sincere smile.

"I'd be honor to," Uranus said.

"Please close your eyes," she whispered.

Uranus obliged without question, wondering what surprise Princess Neptune was planning on giving her.

She patiently waited.

More than a minute later, there wasn't a word spoken or a movement from the supposedly Princess Neptune. Uranus quickly opened her eyes and looked around.

That was when she realized that the wavy-haired girl had run away. She started chasing after her but was far from being able to catch up to her.

"Wait! What's going on?" Uranus yelled over.

"Bye Haruka!" Michiru shouted mischievously and waved, "I'll deliver your apology to Princess Neptune!"

"You  _are_  Michiru! I knew it!"

"Too late! You can't stop me now!" Michiru responded before bursting into laughter.

"We'll see about that!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am glad to finally have Aino Minako added to the story! She used to be my favorite character in the anime. I love her happy-go-lucky, vibrant personality.


	4. Chapter 4

Uranus tried to catch up with Michiru with her wind-like speed but somehow she still lost track of the aqua-haired girl near a pathway formed by high hedges that led to the entrance of Rosalind Garden.

The blonde princess slowed down and walked briskly instead, checking her surrounding and wondering where Michiru could have gone to. Could she be hiding behind the tall shrubs?

Suddenly, a guard was racing into the garden at a speed like someone's life was on the line and he was the only hope to rescue him/her. He wasn't able to see Uranus approaching the corner of the hedge and collided with the blonde princess. He fell down immediately after the crash but the princess stood firm.

"Your Highness, my apology for running into you!" The guard nervously apologized as he got up on his feet. "Are you okay?"

"I am, obviously. Are you?" Uranus replied, feeling a bit frustrated of the violent collision and the unexpected person in the garden. She then questioned, "What's the hurry? I thought I made it clear that no one is supposed to come in without my permission?"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. A guest from Neptune informed me that an intruder was in the garden picking floral emblem and suggested that I should go after him-" the guard answered, still panting from running and the collision. "I was afraid that he is up to no good and concerned about your safety."

He looked down briefly, and Uranus immediately reacted by trying to hide the flower in her hand. However, it was too late and he had already caught a glimpse of what was in her hand. The blonde princess's face flushed instantly. She couldn't believe that the mischievous bodyguard managed to trick her again. How was she going to explain this?

The guard looked at her, with an expression that showed that he knew the princess might have some knowledge of this already.

"Don't worry about it, everything has been taken care of," Uranus quickly addressed his concern, making sure that the guard didn't think she was the perceived flower picker by the Neptunian guest.

"So the flower-" the guard said, trying to make sense out of what he saw. His eyes were still on the object in Uranus's hand.

"I got it back from  _the intruder,_ " Uranus clarified.

Uninvited, trespassing guest? Maybe Michiru was the intruder instead.

"Understood," the guard said. "I'm glad to learn that everything is fine. I'll go check outside the garden now, just to make sure that there aren't any more intruders."

"Go ahead."

As Uranus stood alone in the garden, she found it inconceivable that Michiru found ways to fool her again. What was even more incredulous was that the little trick she tried to play with Michiru was actually part of a bigger trick that the wavy-haired girl played with her instead. For a while, she actually believed that Michiru  _was_  Princess Neptune. Then as she was trying to catch up with her, the aqua-haired girl must have sensed that her speed was no match to Haruka, so she created a detour in order to prevent herself from getting caught by  _the Oberon guard_.

Uranus shook her head. She started to wonder how many more tricks could Michiru have up her sleeves. The blonde princess had never come across anyone who would blatantly disobey her commands nor even dare to fool her in such way. Michiru was definitely the first one.

Normally she would be agitated over a defeat in a duel or losing a competitive game. But somehow being fooled by Michiru didn't seem to upset her in any way.

Michiru was just cunning bodyguard, wasn't she?

As Uranus recollected her encounter with Michiru, something unexplainable happened. The corners of her lips curled upward and she began to find the witty girl interesting-

'Stop! Stop!' Uranus resisted in her head. She told herself that it was wrong for Michiru to fake Princess Neptune, her assigned senshi partner. Neptune was the one she supposed to meet and partner with, and they'd fight together to defend their planets, and whoever Michiru was shouldn't matter to her...

But still, she was quite intriguing. A bodyguard with great artistic talent, photographic memory, and superb storytelling ability-

'No, but she was playing games and fooling you!' Uranus tried to negate any positive feelings she was developing for Michiru again. She tried to convince herself that everything was just a part of Michiru's game. How could she know for sure that Michiru was artistic if she didn't sketch in front of her? Plus it didn't seem unreasonable for Michiru to remember the sketches, since it was likely for her to stand next to Neptune when the princess was sketching.

Before Uranus could further continue her musing, her communicator rang.

It was Pluto.

"Uranus, this is Pluto. Come in."

"I'm here."

"Two of my moons are under attacked. I'm at Charon but can't get to Hydra soon enough-" Pluto said. There was a ton of noises behind Pluto, she was apparently busy defending her moon that was under siege.

"Not a problem. I'll be there soon," Uranus promised quickly.

"Thanks, how is it over there?"

"It's been quiet here. Actually Neptune is visiting."

"Why don't you ask Neptune to come along then? I have no idea the size of the force at Hydra but it won't hurt to get some extra help."

"Sure, I'll ask."

"That'd be great," Pluto said.

After Uranus and Pluto disconnected, the blonde princess quickly transformed and started heading out to Hydra, the outermost moon of Pluto. While traveling, she took out her communicator to reach Neptune. But she paused before initiating contact, realizing that this would be the first time she 'meet' her senshi partner even though it wasn't a face to face one. She knew that some formal greeting would be nice, but since she was on a mission, it was probably best to simply focus on the request and worry about formality later.

Neptune returned to the guest chamber of Miranda Castle. She couldn't help but chuckle over the little game she played with Haruka.

The wavy-haired princess was normally composed and reserved, but somehow those qualities seemed to be put behind when she interacted with Haruka. It was quite funny, because the Oberon guard had an uncanny ability to ignite the emotional, competitive, and playful side of her which she managed to hide so well in front of others.

"No!" Neptune tried to suppress in her head the fact that she enjoyed playing with Haruka. "Haruka is by far the most arrogant, frustrating person I have ever met in my life.  _He_  managed to make me angry, augmentative and competitive! It's  _his_  fault!"

But didn't you get back at _him_  already? Neptune tried to counter her own argument.

She chuckled again, thinking that the arrogant guard who accused her for stealing floral emblem must be fuming when  _he_  was identified as the flower picker instead, since the Skyflower was in  _his_  possession.

The aqua-haired girl then began to flip through the sketchbook that she got back from Haruka. As she was going through the pages, she realized that there was a bookmark left on one of the pages of the book, the page where Nereid Music Conservatory was sketched.

Before Neptune could look at the details of the bookmark, a sound was heard on her communicator. She thought that this was probably her planet calling her, since rarely anyone would call her outside of her home planet.

"This is Neptune," Neptune answered in her casual tone.

"Neptune, this is Uranus." She heard from the other side. The message wasn't very clear to her, probably due to some kind of signal disturbance from Uranus's travel in high speed through the vast space.

"Who's this?" The wavy-haired princess asked.

"Can you hear me? I'm Uranus."

"There are lots of noises behind you. Did you ask where I am? If so, yes I'm at Uranus."

"No! This _is_  Uranus!" Uranus said, sounding a little annoyed.

This time Neptune could hear the response. Oh no, she thought. Uranus? Her senshi partner? Why would she call her out of the blue? Anyway, she knew her response definitely did not make a good impression for  _meeting_  someone so important for the first time. She clearly came off as someone who had trouble with hearing.

"Sorry, I can hear you now," said Neptune, trying to be polite, but frankly it was still hard to hear what Uranus said on the other side with all the noises behind her.

"Can you go to Hydra? Pluto needs some help. Enemies are attacking both of her moons. She's at Charon and I'm heading over there now. It would be great if you could join me, probably a good chance for us to start fighting together as well."

Unfortunately with the disturbance, all Neptune could hear was, "Hydra… enemies… Charon… Hydra… join me…"

"Hold on." Feeling frustrated at the fragmented message, Neptune quickly transformed and headed towards Pluto's direction.

"Uranus, I'm on my way now, where exactly do you want me to go? Hydra or Charon?"

By the time Neptune was on her way, Uranus was getting close to landing Hydra already. Neptune could hear sounds of enemies on the other side from her own communicator.

"Hydra!" Uranus barely could repeat herself as she began to prepare herself to fight monsters.

"Got it. I'll be there," Neptune acknowledged.

"Okay, please hurry!"

Neptune gave a quick peek on her Deep Aqua Mirror as usual, and something didn't look right. There was a signal of enemies moving towards the direction of the Uranian planet.  It was clear that she had to stay there instead to defend her partner’s planet. As much as she would appreciate the opportunity to fight alongside Uranus, she could not go to Hydra.

"Sorry Uranus, I can't come over. Enemies are coming towards your planet. I'd better stay there and prepare for the attack."

Unfortunately, as Neptune was traveling and Uranus was engaging in fighting monsters, there were too much noises in both of their backgrounds, so all Uranus could hear was "I can't come over…I'd better stay there."

"Fine," Uranus replied perfunctorily, obviously too busy to care for the reasons behind the refusal of assistance.

Their first formal communication did not turn out well.

Neptune turned around and made her way towards Miranda Castle again. The signal on her Mirror was getting much stronger. There were more enemies approaching. They had moved past the orbits of the outer moons of Uranus and appeared to be heading for the planet. Neptune decided to halt them before they could even get a chance to come close to the planet. She went over to meet them near Oberon (the moon).

The incoming army didn't seem particularly hard to defeat. Neptune gripped her Mirror tightly, preparing to send her crashing wave attacks toward the troop. But something didn't feel right. The enemies continued to march on as if they hadn't already known that Neptune could easily defeat them, and at the same time her Mirror started to flash more alarming signals.

She gazed into her Mirror immediately and learned that even more enemies were coming. She was absolutely shocked by the magnitude of the forces. There were multiple troops approaching the planet from different angles, and each of the troops looked much larger and more organized comparing to one in front of her. The wavy-haired princess had never encountered anything like this before. The enemies seemed to be aiming to encircle the planet and attack it from all directions. Neptune knew that there wouldn’t be enough time for her to defeat them one by one before one of the troops made a landing on the castle. She needed to call for help quickly.

The aqua-haired princess knew that Uranus and Pluto were far away there but she had to try anyway. Perhaps she could hold the enemies off as long as she could in order to buy some time while she waited for their assistance.

However, there was no response on their communicators. She couldn't get a hold of either of them.

At this point, there was no way she could have called for anyone else for back up, the inner senshis were just too far to be reached. It was clear to Neptune that she had to take on this battle alone. Suddenly, she had a chilling feeling about this. The intention of this impending assault seemed more apparent now - it was the enemy's scheme to create distractions by attacking the inner and outer-most moons of Pluto, causing Pluto to call for help, then at the same time concentrating their assault on Uranus. The Dark Kingdom intelligently picked Uranus, because at this time her planet positioned close to Pluto but Uranus was much farther away. Had she gone out to fight with Uranus and Pluto, then no one would be there to defend the planet for this upcoming attack. The timing was almost perfect, and the only miscalculation was that the enemies did not account for the power of Deep Aqua Mirror to reveal and uncloak their plan.

Neptune did not have much time left to prepare for this. She knew that the lives of Miranda Castle and the planet were in her hands. Being far outnumbered definitely put her in a huge disadvantage, but Neptune wasn't short of tricks and schemes. It was time to put them into good use.

Once she landed on Miranda Castle again, she requested for a map of Miranda Castle and gathered everyone at the palace's courtyard. She had to inform Uranian the imminent situation and give out orders in lieu of Princess Uranus.

"Fellow Uranian, Princess Uranus is at Hydra fighting alongside Princess Pluto, and our enemies tried to seize this opportunity to attack us," Neptune announced. "They have sent troops towards Miranda Castle and are approaching from all directions. Time is running against us and we need to act quickly." 

Tense air was felt and worried faces were seen immediately at the courtyard. Hearing that enemies were coming in large numbers was worrisome already, and the fact that no one had worked with (and some hadn't even met) Princess Neptune before definitely did the opposite in easing that tension. Nervous side conversations started to carry on.

Neptune’s plan required some cooperation from Uranians, but she needed to convince everyone that she would defend this planet as if it were her own. She had to remove doubts before she could carry on with her plan.

"It sounds like you have doubts in me, you seemed worried that I am not acting in your best interest," Neptune said with empathy. "As a Neptunian princess and a partner of Princess Uranus, I can assure you that I will give my life to defend this planet. No harm will come to you without defeating me!"

"All I can ask for is your support and trust. I don't need anyone to fight with me; I will stand on the front line myself.”

With Neptune's assuring words, the crowd seemed a bit more convinced and had quieted down. The aqua-haired princess then continued, “And what I need you to do is to leave Miranda Castle right now."

Everyone started looking at each other, feeling perplexed by this order.  

"You heard that right, this is an evacuation order. Take shelter at Cordelia Naval Station," the wavy-haired princess commanded authoritatively, she then turned her attention to the admiral and continued. "Make sure everyone retreat orderly and quietly.  Promptly confirm your arrival and then stand by for my next command. No one returns here without my order!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" The admiral obeyed.

"Now proceed!"

Everyone in Miranda Castle obeyed the command from the Neptunian princess and departed orderly. The castle quickly became deserted and Neptune's first plan worked out. She knew that at the very least Uranians would be safe for now. No one would be hurt, not until they could defeat her. Now she had to move onto her second plan.

* * *

**Hydra & Charon, Pluto**

Using her masterful sword skills, Uranus wielded her Space Sword efficiently and sent blasting attacks to monsters. She was able to finish off the enemies in a fairly short amount of time. Either the monsters were too weak or her melee skill had improved so much that they didn't even come close as a threat to her at all. Uranus was content with the outcome and the assistance she was able to provide Pluto.

After the last enemy was removed from Hydra, Uranus briefly thought of her communication with Neptune earlier. It definitely did not turn out in the way she was hoping for. Maybe the noises in their backgrounds were the main factor for the poorly communicated messages, but she also wondered whether her brevity and curt messages were reasons Neptune decided to stay put instead. Had she introduced herself first or greeted Neptune formally before asking her senshi partner for help, would the outcome be different?

Little did the blonde princess know that everything was all part of a setup from the Dark Kingdom. She would have not expected the enemies to create two smaller attacks as baits to attract her to assist Pluto, and planned a much sizable attack on her own planet instead.

The blonde princess went over to Charon and assisted Pluto vanquishing the remaining enemies.

"Thank you, Uranus," Pluto said gratefully.

"Not a problem. Glad that I was able to help."

"I'll definitely return the favor when you need me," Pluto said. "Where's Neptune? I thought you were going to bring her along."

"Well, she decided to stay put at Uranus," Uranus answered. She didn't have a better answer or explanation for this.

"Did she say why?"

"Maybe. I couldn't hear her too well from the communicator."

"I'm sure she has her reason," Pluto said, trying not to jump into any conclusion. Deep down inside she was a little worried about Uranus and Neptune. It definitely didn't sound like they formed anything that was close to a partnership at all.

Uranus stayed quiet. Then she began.

"I guess. I'll try to meet up with her when I return, if she's still there."

"You two still haven't met?" Pluto inquired incredulously.

"No," Uranus answered without offering more details.

Pluto hesitated, then she offered, "Come on Uranus, as a token of my gratitude, can I offer you a cup of Plutonian tea and some treats at Charon Castle?"

"I'll take it," Uranus said, smiling politely.

* * *

**Miranda Castle**

The enemy troops have now reached the inner moons of the planet. Neptune did a quick tour around the castle to ensure that everyone had evacuated. The map that she got from the guard came in handy and she easily had every place in the castle memorized.

As she passed by the pond, she thought of Haruka. When she asked everyone to gather at the courtyard, she didn't recall seeing the blonde teen. The wavy-haired princess couldn't help but feel unease about this. She hoped that her little trick didn't end up leaving  _him_  stranded in the garden.

"Haruka!" Neptune shouted, "Are you there?"

"Haruka!" She shouted again.

The only responses she could hear were the rustling wind and her own echo created by the high hedges.

Neptune had no choice but to move on with her plans.

Two troops landed Miranda Castle, one at the north tower and the other one at the south tower. Neptune watched them closely on her Mirror. The enemies seem to be a bit surprised that there were no guards at all on either tower, and comfortably marched down towards the palace. Soon, two more troops landed on the east and west terrace respectively.

After the Uranian admiral confirmed that everyone made it safely to Cordelia Naval Station, Neptune shut off her communicator and went for the summit.

* * *

**Charon Castle**

Charon Castle was a quite mysterious place. It was a minimally decorated castle. Besides Pluto's residence and a garden, every other facility and complex in the castle was designed and constructed to support Pluto's research studies. There were testing laboratories to serve different experimental purposes, and most of her staffs in the castle were scientists and lab technicians.

Even the garden next to her residence only consisted of plants that were grown as part of Pluto's empirical research.

The two princesses sat by a small table in an unassuming dining room.

Observing the surrounding, Uranus could tell that Pluto rarely entertained the idea of having guests over, let alone hosting a tea party. The blonde princess was certain that this invitation was something more than an appreciation of her help. She stayed quiet and courteous, waiting to hear what Pluto had to say.

Pluto poured out bright green tea from her teapot into a delicate cup, and handed it over to Uranus. The blonde princess took a sip of the tea.

"How is it?" Pluto asked as she poured herself a cup as well.

"It's a bit sweet," Uranus replied, "sweeter than the teas I have on my planet."

A sad smile appeared on Pluto's face. It made Uranus wonder if she should have answered it differently.

"I guess that's a silver lining for being so far away," said Pluto.

As Uranus looked at her with a confused facial expression, Pluto went on to explain. She took a breath that was borderline deep, and said calmly, "Inadequate exposure to sunlight actually prevents the formation of bitter substance in tea leaves, so the tea ends up tasting a bit sweet instead."

Uranus looked at the phthalo-green haired princess with nothing but sympathy in her marine blue eyes. The relaxed expression on Pluto's face couldn't hide the slight hint of melancholy, and only way to mask it was probably her warm cardinal red eyes. Being so far away in the solar system and assigned to such critical task, she couldn't imagine how much loneliness and forlorn Pluto had to endure in order to make her so stoical and carry on with her destined responsibilities.

"No need to feel sorry for me, Uranus," Pluto said. "It might be hard to grasp, but I do enjoy my solitude. I have devoted most of my time to research and I'm perfectly content with it."

"I can relate," Uranus said, nodding knowingly. She was not as introverted as Pluto but she certainly enjoyed some of the benefits from being so much farther away from other planets.

"No, Uranus. You're different," Pluto said.

"As in what way?"

The Phthalo green-haired princess sighed slightly.

"You're not supposed to be alone, Uranus. You are destined to have a partner," Pluto said. She then continued in a concerning tone, "I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but I'm sure the Queen had her reasons when she made you and Neptune senshi partners. You know what I mean."

"I know," Uranus answered.

"Maybe it's time I also tell you about the mystical power of our talismans."

Uranus was surprised to learn about the ultimate power of their combined talismans. Pluto also indicated that the talismans were capable of much more, especially for the Space Sword and the Deep Aqua Mirror, as the combined could unleash more hidden power which even Pluto did not know the potential capability to its full extent. She suggested that only through partnership, they would be able to find out on their own.

"Thank you Pluto," Uranus said, "With that said, I should probably get going soon. Neptune is still there and I don't want to keep her waiting for too long."

  
Guardian Uranus - Silver Millennium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that Pluto's favorite drink is actually green tea, so I guess it worked out well since quality green tea had to be "shade-grown" for about 20 days before harvesting. I know I'm a nerd for looking up stuff like this for the story.


	5. Chapter 5

**Miranda Castle**

The enemy troops rapidly surrounded the castle and flooded all entrances. At this point the fate of Miranda Castle and the people on the Uranian planet were solely in Neptune's hands. The guardian of the sea stood at the summit of the castle, overlooking the approaching forces and gripped onto the Deep Aqua Mirror tightly in her hand. She was prepared to fight this battle and defend the planet of her senshi partner alone.

When the wavy-haired guardian walked around the castle to conduct some final checks earlier, she had made sure that all source of light was shut off and blocked so that the pathways would be as dark as possible under the tall curtain walls. She also marked some spots along the pathways.

She stay put and waited patiently for the enemy troops to march further into the castle. At this time the moonlight from Ariel, the brightest moon of Uranus (out of all others that were relatively dark), offered a glimmer of light that shone faintly at the summit.

Soon every pathway to the palace was occupied with monsters. The troops had stretched out into very long lines since the pathways were narrow and lengthy passages. But that was exactly what Neptune wanted. In order for her strategy to work out, she needed them to disperse and lose their tactical formations first.

When Neptune was finally satisfied with what she saw, she raised her Deep Aqua Mirror towards Ariel to capture its gleam.

She then let her Mirror deflect lights onto the spots where she had marked earlier.

Unbeknownst to the aqua-haired princess, her Deep Aqua Mirror intensified the luminosity of the gleam captured and emitted powerful beaming lights towards the spots instead.

Neptune's action caught the enemy force off-guard. The troops were instantly perplexed and perturbed by the sudden distractions. They panicked and reacted as if traps and ambushes were set up around them, and frantically sent attacks towards the spots where the blinding lights shone. Since the troops were trapped in the pathways with no organized formations and no easy way to get out, Neptune's lights destroyed their coherence and caused panics amongst them.

The wavy-haired guardian saw the opportunity and created even more deceptions by maneuvering her Mirror to flicker lights towards the narrowest part of the pathways, pushing the forces to further obstruct each other and causing more chaos. She also sent rays directly at the enemy forces, so that the monsters started sending fire and lightning and ice attacks to each other and were practically taking out themselves. Neptune's plan was working out beautifully, perhaps much better than what she had originally expected. She stood still at the summit, watching her strategies unfolded and reaping profits from the successful implementation.

It didn't take long before majority of the enemy force was obliterated by vanquishing each other, but the droids of each troop and a handful of stronger monsters did not succumbed to Neptune's tricks and remained alive. They still posed threats to Miranda Castle.

Now Neptune had to move onto her second step. It was time for a counter-offensive.

As she was getting ready for her next move, a cloaked flying unit was lingering around the aqua haired guardian. Before Neptune detected it with her Mirror and sent a wave towards it, the enemy flying unit emitted a piercing sound and alarmed the surviving units of her whereabouts. She startled and the remaining enemy forces quickly collected themselves and headed towards the palace courtyard.

* * *

**Pluto flyby**

Uranus bid farewell to Pluto and made her way back to her own planet. As Uranus was on her way, her communicator alerted her that Neptune had tried to reach out to her earlier. The blond princess immediately tried to connect with her again just to make sure her senshi partner was safe and everything was fine on her planet, but she couldn't get a hold of the aqua-haired princess.

As Uranus wondered what the call was about, Pluto rang.

"Uranus, it's Pluto again. I want to let you know that Neptune attempted to contact me earlier. Did she try to reach you?"

"She did," Uranus answered.

"I guess she called when we were both engaged in fighting enemies, I wonder if everything was okay with her," Pluto tried to deduce why she didn't notice the call.

"Maybe she was just trying to find out if we still needed help."

"I hope so. Let me know if you need any assistance from me. Safe travels."

"Will do. Thanks Pluto."

Now Uranus couldn't help but start to wonder if things were okay on her home planet.

* * *

**Miranda Castle**

After Neptune's position was revealed, she could not continue with her previous plan anymore. She had to adjust quickly, come up with a different strategy and carry on with it.

The remaining droids and monsters from all directions flooded into the palace courtyard quickly. It was apparent that their plan was to enter Rosalind Garden and head for the summit. Neptune knew that she needed to halt them at the entrance - she could not afford to let them come in and spread out everywhere, because giving her enemies mobility would put her in a huge disadvantage as she could be surrounded and encircled by monsters. She raced towards the entrance of Rosalind Garden, hoping to get there before the enemies did.

From the summit's outlook, Neptune dashed downhill towards the lower platform, sprinted across the garden bridge, and leapt over the tranquil pond. In no time she arrived at the high hedges near the entrance of the garden again. Everything appeared to be as undisturbed as before.

Neptune glanced around quickly and came up with an idea. Where she stood was actually the perfect battleground - the tall shrubs that made up the hedges could serve as a camouflage (one of the advantages for having green hair and uniform). That would also allow her to switch to the offensive side, since she could employ a hit-and-run tactic, sending attacks to take out a few monsters each time while moving away quickly without being noticed, so that the enemies would have a hard time telling where she was exactly and launching counter attack at her. Being vastly outnumbered and not having any assistance, Neptune knew that this would be her best bet. She quietly retreated behind one of the tall shrubs and waited for further actions.

As Neptune expected, a few monsters started rushing into the garden. The guardian of the sea felt more confident that her plan would work out. She raised her hand, summoned her Deep Submerge attack towards the group of monsters.

Within a fraction of a second after the wave hurled out of her hand, Neptune immediately regretted her action and wished that she could have taken it back instead. The few monsters actually stopped moving and did not attempt to dodge Neptune's attack at all. They were taken out but after that the garden was eerily silent. There was neither a counter-attack nor more monsters coming into the garden. This was not a good sign.

The wavy-haired guardian suspected that she had been baited instead. She scolded herself for not waiting until the droids, the leaders of the troops, showed up first. Now that she revealed her own position and there were no more monsters in front of her nor attack returned to her, what could she do next?

Before Neptune could contemplate her next move, her suspicions turned out to be correct. The droids had made their way into the garden well before she did and were cloaking between the shrubs. They were waiting for her to hide there so that they could ambush her. Three droids quickly reemerged and cornered her.

"Neptune, your time is up." One of the droids who seemed to be the leader of the pack said. It burst into an evil laughter.

Frankly, Neptune was in a bad position, but it would take a lot more to be able to prevail over the wavy-haired guardian. Neptune peeked into her Mirror and learned that these robotic-like droids were actually ranged attackers. With that insight she decided to take on them with a melee combat.

Since meeting Haurka and engaging in a melee contest with the blonde tween, Neptune had actually started working on her melee skills. She fought back aggressively and disintegrated one of the droids. Right after that she leapt out of the shrubs and landed in the open area between the hedges.

Now that she made herself visible, the only possible solution for Neptune was to fight whatever monsters or droids coming her way and tried her best to dodge attacks from her enemies. She stood steady, gripping her Mirror firmly in one hand while raising her other hand, preparing to send her Deep Submerge attack to the first monster that jumped out.

* * *

**Triton Castle flyby**

Uranus had made her way past Neptune already. Glancing at her partner's planet and Triton Castle, the blonde princess recalled all of the places Michiru described to her when they were sitting by the pond in Rosalind Garden, going through the drawings on Neptune's sketchbook. According to the drawings on the sketchbook and Michiru's descriptions, Triton Castle was a dreamy place – everything was rich in colors and conformed to harmony and beauty; buildings were masterfully designed and constructed; Thalassa Garden was filled with artfully crafted topiaries. Surrounding them were natural sceneries that were almost too splendid to be true.

Competing with the beautiful and dreamy sceneries were Princess Neptune's landscape paintings hanging on the walls of Galatea Art School, even Queen Serenity would send her ambassador to hand pick some for her art gallery in Moon Castle; situated next to the art school was Nereid Music Conservatory, a place that nurtured musical talents. It often hosted violin and harp recitals performed by Princess Neptune.

There was also Halimede Alchemy Lab, which was a unique lab in the solar system that tested and developed interesting ideas from Princess Neptune. It also manufactured beauty products like nail dye waxes and hair curling potions.

The blonde princess smiled, wishing that she could visit the planet of her senshi partner and see the beautiful and interesting places with her own eyes.

* * *

**Miranda Castle**

Neptune had managed to vanquish most of the remaining monsters with a few crafty tricks. It had been a tough battle due to the size of the troops and her not being able to get any assistance at all. Despite being in a disadvantageous position, the aqua haired guardian had done the best she could keeping Uranian in a safe place, and strategize her tactics and moves. She tirelessly continued to defend her partner's planet.

Standing in the open area and being outnumbered, the aqua-haired guardian could only adopt a more defensive approach and launch attacks whenever she saw the opportunities. Most of the times she was simply dodging attacks coming from all directions. This also gave enemies the chance to force her into more unfavorable positions. Soon Neptune and the enemies were fighting at the summit of the castle, where she executed her first defensive tactics. There were a few monsters and droids left to be taken out.

As Neptune removed yet another monster, a droid stroke an icy blade towards her. She tried to dodge it but the wind picked up suddenly. The hurricane force wind constrained her movement and blew the strike straight into her. The direct hit sent a crushing force towards her, knocking her down immediately. She almost lost grip of her Mirror as she landed on the limestone pavement.

"Aww!" Neptune cried. She glanced at her arm where the attack struck. It looked pretty bad. But Neptune refused to let it bother her; she knew that the safety of Uranian, Miranda Castle, and the entire planet were still in her hands. She could not give up until her last breath.

Neptune quickly got up on her feet. Just then another droid lunged from behind and hurled chain lightning at her. She dove beneath it but the first droid launched another icy blade towards her again. It hit her on the same spot and she tumbled again. As she fell down, her hand made an impact on the ground, causing her fingers to give up their duties. She lost her grasp and the Deep Aqua Mirror flew out of her hand, landing a few steps away from her.

Neptune tried to get up and reach for it, but immediately found herself surrounded by droids. One of them entangled her with chain lightning around her body, and threatened to strike her if she tried to move.

The wavy-haired guardian was immobile and had no other way to defend or free herself at this point.

The droids laughed maliciously.

"Uranus, where are you?" Neptune whispered. "Please come back…"

* * *

**Inner Moons of Uranus**

Uranus had made it to the inner moons of her planet. She found it unusual that Miranda Castle appeared to be so much darker. Normally she would be able to see it even before she got to the moons with her sharp eyes, but now she could barely see the levitating castle next to her planet.

Something seemed off and she became worried.

The blonde princess summoned her Space Sword, preparing for any necessary battle that she might encounter along the way.

To Uranus's surprise, the gems on her Sword started flashing rather alarmingly, something that had she had never seen before on her talisman. Suspecting that something was indeed wrong, she sped up, going as fast as she could towards Miranda Castle.

* * *

**Miranda Castle**

The leader of the droids walked over to pick up Neptune's Deep Aqua Mirror while the other droids stood guarding the aqua-haired princess closely.

"Humph! So this is what you used to take out most of my troops?" The droid commented. It wasn't meant to be a question.

"It's in our possession now. What are you going to do, Princess Neptune?"

Neptune stared at the droid, trying to come up with new plans. The talisman definitely could not end up in the hands of the enemies. Perhaps she could try to negotiate in order to buy herself some more time, and hopefully Uranus would return soon? After all, as long as she could keep them doing anything other than attacking, Uranian and Miranda Castle would at least be safe, and she could also try to collect some insight and decide what to do next.

"I still have plans, but I'm afraid I can't tell you," Neptune answered mysteriously.

"You still do? After losing your Mirror to us and being entangled?" The lead droid laughed and asked.

"Well, just because the Mirror is in your hand, that doesn't necessarily mean it's in your possession," she calmly said.

"Why not?" The droid asked.

"Because the Mirror is so mystical that no one can predict what it can do. It might attack you instead."

"What do you suggest I should do then?" The droid looked into the Mirror and saw nothing but its own reflection.

"Why don't you tell me what you're trying to do then I'll give you my suggestion," Neptune boldly proposed.

"I wonder if it really will attack me,” the droid said curiously.  
  
“I wouldn’t try if I were you,” Neptune tried to sound enigmatic as a way to bluff, hoping the droid would call her out and try it instead. 

“Maybe I will find out from you first!" 

The droid raised the Mirror above its head, directing its reflective side towards Neptune.

"Attack Neptune!" The droid shouted.

The aqua-haired guardian startled. She was still discovering the abilities of her talisman as she was using it. She had no idea what it was capable of doing in its full extent, and whether it would actually respond to the enemies' command and attack her instead.

"Please help me," Neptune pleaded in a tiny voice as she faced her own Mirror.

At the same time, Uranus's Space Sword was acting more strangely. It guided Uranus to raise it. Suddenly, instead of flashing, the gems emitted strong beaming lights towards the summit of Miranda Castle and straight into the Deep Aqua Mirror. Uranus and everyone at the summit were shocked when it happened.

The lights then flickered from the Mirror, creating a light explosion and blinding and eliminating all enemies that the reflective side shone on. The chain lightning that entangled Neptune was also abolished.

Neptune flinched away from the powerful lights. In no way she was expecting this.

The lead droid that held up the Mirror was terrified. It now actually believed that Neptune wasn't bluffing when she said the Mirror could cause harm unexpectedly. It quickly dropped the Mirror, and tried to jump off the castle to escape.

Neptune was now freed since the other droids that encircled her were vanquished by the powerful lights. The aqua-haired guardian quickly lunged forward to pick up her Mirror.

"Submarine Reflection!" she shouted to summon a powerful wave of seawater. It blasted onto the last droid that was trying to escape.

After that, everything went quiet at Miranda Castle. Neptune looked into her Mirror and confirmed that the area was clear of enemies again. She finally heaved a sigh of relief.

It was the toughest battle she had fought thus far, and even though in the very end she had to rely on a crucial assistance in order to claim victory, she felt quite successful that she was able protect and defend the people and planet of her senshi partner.

The aqua haired guardian stood at the summit with the Mirror in her hand. She looked above, wondering where the source of such strong light could be coming from. There was nothing remotely bright enough in her visible eyes.

As Neptune tried to solve the mystery, she suddenly remembered that the only thing that could complement her Deep Aqua Mirror was Uranus's Space Sword.

Did the Space Sword help saving her? If so, where was Uranus? Had she return to Miranda Castle already?

That was when Neptune remembered that her communicator was shut off before the battle, when she needed total silence in order to execute her plan.

She quickly switched on her communicator again.

As soon as her device was switched on, it started ranging.

"This is Neptune," she answered.

Apparently she was not prepared for the response from the other side.

"Neptune! Where are you?! What did you do to my castle? Where are my people?!" The other side yelled angrily.

This conversation could not possibly turn out to be good.

  
Guardian Neptune - Silver Millennium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so excited for this battle that I stayed up late a few nights to finish it! But I found it challenging to write senshi fighting scenes so I adopted a military-style battle instead. Hope that turned out okay.


	6. Chapter 6

After fighting a brutal battle and risking her life to protect Uranian and Miranda Castle, what Uranus said over the communicator was the last thing Neptune expected to hear from her unmet senshi partner.

"W-what did I do to your castle?" Neptune questioned disbelievingly. "You are asking-"

"What happened here?!" Uranus interrupted sharply, "where are my people?"

 _What happened?_  Neptune thought to herself. She certainly had a lot to say and explain to Uranus, but she didn't even know where to begin. She tried her best to remain calm, understanding that the blonde princess had every right to be concerned about her own castle and folks.

"Calm down first, Uranus. I'll tell-"

Uranus interrupted her again.

"I came back here to a deserted castle, not seeing a glint of light or a sign of life, and you have the audacity of telling me to calm down?!"

"I know. It's a long story, but everything is fine now," Neptune tried to explain.

"Fine?! You called this mess fine? Where are my folks? I need an answer!" Uranus interrogated furiously. "I need to see them right now! Then I'll hold you accountable for what you have done."

"What I have done?!" Neptune couldn't hold back her calmness anymore after hearing her senshi partner's accusatory comment. She started raising her voice at the communicator, "What  _on Uranus_  are you talking about?!"

"Aren't you listening?! I need to see my folks right now!"

"They are at Cordelia Naval Station!" Neptune yelled back and huffed frustratingly.

The blonde princess headed down towards the naval station immediately. Knowing the whereabouts of her people was a bit more assuring, but she really needed to see them safe and well with her own eyes.

"They'd better be okay," Uranus continued on the communicator, her tone still cold, "look, I had to leave to assist Pluto. On the other hand, you declined to offer any help and decided to stay here. And that was fine. But you turned off your communicator, and I came back to my castle looking like this. How am I supposed to think?"

Uranus's attempt to justify her anger only resulted in exacerbating things. Neptune had already decided that reasoning with Uranus was a nonsensical thing to do.

"Just go and ask your people before you throw more vituperative accusations at me!" Neptune shouted. And before Uranus could respond, the aqua-haired princess promptly ended their call.

* * *

**Cordelia Naval Station, Uranus**

Uranus arrived at the naval station shortly.

Once she embarked her battleship and announced her return, Uranians were relieved to see their princess return to the planet safely.

"Welcome back, Your Highness."

"Is everyone safe?" The blonde princess asked in a concerning tone, glancing around the deck. "What was going on? Were there enemies?"

"Yes, everyone is safe and sound," The admiral assured and gestured a way for Uranus, "this way please, Your Highness."

He and a few higher ranks navy officers accompanied the blonde princess to the bridge for more detail briefing.

"There were indeed enemies - much more than anything we had encountered before," the admiral said. "The Dark Kingdom had sent an immoderate amount here that was enough to occupy the entire castle."

His answer shocked the blonde princess. no wonder Miranda Castle looked like a chaos.

"So you took everyone here for shelter?" Uranus inquired.

"No, Your Highness. It was actually Princess Neptune's order. She commanded all of us to vacate the castle and relocate here, and she stayed at the castle alone."

"Neptune?" Uranus asked, raising an eyebrow.

The admiral nodded. He went on to recount the details of the battle, from how Neptune planned for the evacuation and the things she requested for as preparations, to what he observed below the levitating citadel. As Uranus was debriefed, she found the way Neptune handled everything, from planning to devising strategies, astute and well-thought out.

The blonde princess also felt her anger towards her senshi partner quickly receded, replacing that feeling was respect and appreciation of Neptune's determination and cleverness. She was grateful that Neptune was able to cover her in her absence and protected her people.

She couldn't help but rethink her conversations with Neptune earlier. Not only it explained why Neptune insisted to stay put at the castle instead of joining her at Hydra, it also justified why Neptune was so upset when she was interrogated in a dubious way.

Just then, the admiral received a message from Princess Neptune, announcing that Miranda Castle was free of enemies again and giving her clearance for everyone to return to the castle.

"You Highness, we await your final order," the admiral said, waiting for a final confirmation from their own princess.

"Go ahead. I have no objection at all."

Uranus remained at the bridge of the battleship with her navy officers, discussing a few matters while watching everyone else getting ready to disembark and return to the castle. Suddenly, something seemed to be bothering her. Her glance at the deck became more of a scrutiny, and a frown appeared on her face.

"Your Highness, is everything okay?" The admiral asked as he noticed Uranus's change in facial expression.

"Didn't Princess Neptune send  _everyone_  here?" Uranus asked.

"She did indeed. I can ensure that everyone evacuated the castle promptly," the admiral answered carefully. He was aware of the way the princess asked the question.

"Where are her travel companions?"

The admiral looked around carefully, and pointed out a group of people for Uranus as he identified them.

Uranus's eyes lingered at the group for a while, but she still wasn't satisfied with what she saw.

"Is there anyone you are concerned with?" He asked.

"Wasn't there a girl with long wavy green hair?"

"You mean Princess Neptune?"

"No, but someone who looks just like her," Uranus tried to explain. She found herself lacking anything that could better describe Michiru the bodyguard,  the princess's doppelgänger who was notsupposed to have any physical attribute that would distinguish herself from the real princess.

The admiral shook his head, apparently confused by the princess's conundrum.  
"But I can ask-"

Before the admiral could offer a suggestion, a cold chill ran down Uranus's back, and she took off briskly.

* * *

**Miranda Castle**

Neptune was already physically exhausted and mentally drained from the battle. She told herself that anger was probably the last thing she needed at this point. Heaving a deep sigh, she de-transformed and sat down at the lookout, giving her tired body a rest and trying to clear up her mind and collect herself. The cool crisp air and the gentle breeze seemed to help.

She stared blankly into the boundless space, facing the direction of Triton Castle and her own planet. Of course she could not possibly see them with her eyes as they are more than a billion miles away, but as she reminded herself this hard truth and recollected her unsuccessful attempts to meet up with Uranus and their troubled communications, she couldn't help but wonder whether she and Uranus were really meant to be partners and fight alongside each other.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew by her side and she shuddered and winced in pain. The wind reminded her of the injury inflicted during the fight. Since everything that happened succeeding the strikes was much more unimaginable, she almost forgot that the wound still hurt.

She looked at her arm where the two icy blades struck. It looked worse than it actually felt, but would probably take a day or two at most to heal with her senshi healing power. She could also use her Mirror as an instant fix if she wanted to.

Just when she was debating whether to summon her Mirror to perform a healing regimen, she overheard a voice yelling from afar.

Why was anyone here at this time? Neptune thought. She just gave her clearance to the naval station, but it would take some time for everyone to return, let alone making it all the way to the summit.

"Michiru!"

"Michiru! Where are you?!" The voice was a bit clearer now.

Neptune was shocked. Haruka? It had to be Haruka because only  _he_  knew about Michiru the bodyguard. But why was  _he_  here?

 _He_ didn't leave Miranda Castle, didn't he? That stubborn and arrogant teen.

Was _he_  okay?

Neptune quickly got up on her feet and ran towards the source of the voice calling her pseudo name.

"Haruka? I'm here!" Neptune shouted in the open area.

"Where are you?" There were some echoes heard from the lower platform, making it hard to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

"I'm on the trail!" Neptune answered.

After some running and pacing, soon the two teenagers found each other by the trail that led to the summit.

Their exchange stopped and their footsteps were halted promptly, but silence hadn't returned to the castle just yet. There were sounds of heavy panting and pounding hearts.

"Michiru, are you okay? I was worried," Haruka asked, breathing heavily.  _He_ immediately stepped closer to Neptune.

"Of course I am! Are you?" Neptune asked instead. She was more concerned about the Uranian civilian. She checked Haruka carefully, hoping that she wouldn't find any injury on _him_. Confirming that Haruka was safe and well, Neptune unknowingly reached for Haruka's hand, with signs of worries in her eyes.

"I was concerned about you. I didn't-" Neptune quickly paused, "Princess Neptune told me that she didn't see you at the courtyard."

Haruka also paused for a little bit.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine as well," the blonde teen assured.

Finally, smiles of joy and relief appeared on their faces. They were both happy to find each other unhurt.

"You were just reckless," Neptune scolded softly. "Where were you? Hiding out in the Oberon again?"

Haruka answered her with a silly giggle, and the aqua-haired princess shook her head.

"What about you, Michiru?" Haruka asked, giving Neptune's hand a squeeze as  _he_ offered her an amused smile, scolding softly too. "You lost your right to condemn me since you obviously didn't listen to your princess's command neither."

Hearing Haruka's rebuttal, Neptune let go of their hands and looked away.

"I'm different," Neptune said proudly.

"How are you any different? You and I _are_ both civilians," Haruka said, trying to explore further on Michiru's response.

"But I'm her bodyguard," Neptune defended.

"That makes no sense at all-"

"Well it also makes no sense that Princess Neptune told everyone to leave and you stayed here."

"Didn't you do the same thing?!" Haruka argued.

"Then explain to me, why didn't you leave then?" Neptune tried to dodge that question.

Haruka grew quiet. _He_ seemed to be analyzing what Neptune had said earlier.

"Wait, how did Princess Neptune know I didn't show up at the courtyard? She has never met me before," Haruka answered by asking another question.

Neptune thought for a moment, and then explained with a wry smile, "Of course I told her all about you, the Oberon guard who accused me of stealing flowers."

Neptune secretly giggled. She found herself losing composure quickly when arguing with Haruka, but it was strange because she actually enjoyed debating with the blonde teen like this. Unlike her normal calm and graceful poise in her princess identity, acting as Michiru allowed her to feel relaxed and carefree, and she could be as silly and playful as she wanted to be.

"I was joking with you!” Haruka countered. “But you actually tried to accuse me for being an intruder and stealing floral emblem to my-, I mean, to the garden guard!”

“You started it first!” Neptune defended.

“And what were you doing up there just now? Picking flowers again?"

"Fine, I'm not debating with you anymore," Neptune quickly tried to end that conversation. "I've got to go, and you have no right to stop me," she playfully said. She used the same line she said to Haruka when she  _pretended_  to be Princess Neptune.

She smiled and turned away from Haruka.

"We'll see about that," Haruka said with a smirk on _his_ face. _He_ held her by the elbow, preventing her from leaving.

"Aww!" Neptune cried. The blonde teen gripped onto the area tightly, right where the icy blades struck.

"Playing another trick again, Michiru? I won't be fooled this time," Haruka said confidently.

"No, I'm not," Neptune said with a painful expression, begging. "Please…let go."

* * *

**Altar of Darkness**

Queen Beryl was furious. A scouting unit from the battle at Miranda Castle had returned and provided her an update of the defeat.

"Whose idea was that to allow Neptune staying at Miranda castle?!" She shouted at her advisors.

"Our plan was to create distractions at the moons of Pluto," one of her advisors said, "hoping that both Uranus and Neptune would assist Pluto when we sent troops towards Miranda Castle. But-"

"But what?!" The fire-red haired queen demanded.

"But we didn't expect Neptune to uncover our plan and defended Miranda Castle. Somehow she was able to detect our troops well before we reached the moons of Uranus."

"How was that possible?"

"I speculate that it has something to do with her talisman. Perhaps it was one of the mystic powers of her Deep Aqua Mirror."

"I know those talismans would be troublesome," the malicious queen said. She rose from her throne and walked over to small burning pit.

"But the bigger threat is Neptune…" She closed her eyes and lifted one hand towards the flame, and it morphed into deep aqua hue.

* * *

**Miranda Castle**

“How would I know that you’re not trying to trick me this time?” Uranus asked.

Michiru winced without answering her.

Uranus suspected that Michiru was playing games with her again, yet she worried that Michiru was indeed hurting.  

"Fine," Uranus said. The blonde princess loosened her grip and said jokingly, "let's see if you got any more trick up your sleeve."

Uranus tried to roll up her sleeve instead. Michiru struggled to stop her to no avail. As the blonde princess took a closer look at the area where she had pressed on, her eyes grew wide instantly.

"What happened to you?" Uranus asked, looking shocked and perturbed by what she saw.

"It's nothing," Michiru said, quickly withdrawing her arm from Uranus. "Maybe I bumped into something earlier."

Apparently that answer wasn't convincing enough for the blonde princess. She didn't believe it would look like this from bumping into anything or even falling, especially considering how agile the bodyguard was. It looked rather serious.

"You need to get treated. Come on," the blonde princess said and took Michiru's hand.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you to the apothecary."

"Haruka, it's really not that bad. It just looks worse than it is," Michiru said. "Plus, aren't you supposed to stay at the Oberon? How could you just walk away from your station?"

Uranus hesitated. The problem apparently wasn't the Oberon, but rather her princess identity would be revealed if they showed up at the apothecary. It shouldn't be an issue since she was ready to meet Neptune so Michiru would know anyway, but her real concern was that this was probably not best time to disclose her identity, since it was likely that Michiru knew about Uranus shouting at her princess.

But Uranus decided that regardless of her dispute with Neptune, Michiru should get treated. She felt contrite that the bodyguard was injured at her castle and her grip hurt her further, and wanted to do something about it.

"Because I can," Uranus said determinedly.

Uranus tried to lead their way towards Belinda Apothecary, but the aqua-haired girl stood firm at where she was. She could not grasp why Michiru would refuse to get helped.

“Why Michiru?” She looked at Michiru, puzzled.

"Haruka, don't worry about it. It'll be fine after a few days," Michiru insisted.

Knowing that Michiru's decision was firm, Uranus shook her head.

"Can I at least help you feel better?"

The aqua-haired girl hesitated, and then she nodded cautiously.

The blonde princess took out a tiny glass bottle from her pocket, uncorked it, and poured out a few drops of liquid onto her fingertips. She then applied them onto Michiru's elbow and rubbed the area gently in circular motions.

"What is this?" Michiru inquired curiously.

"It's a formula created from the essence of Windflowers," Uranus answered.

She carefully covered the area on Michiru's elbow with the liquid formula, and then asked the aqua-haired girl softly, "Does it help?"

"I almost don't feel the pain anymore," Michiru nodded, "it is indeed a great pain reliever. Thank you."

"You knew about this?" Uranus asked, surprised.

"I learned a lot about the two floral emblems from the gardener."

Uranus paused for a moment, and then she began.

"Oh so you do know what it means by giving someone Skyflowers!"

"What do you mean?" Michiru was confused. She tried to recollect her memory on what she learned about the flowers. Realizing that she handed over the golden flower to Uranus, Michiru almost jumped. "That was _not_  my intention!"

"Well, too late for that," Uranus said grinning. "I got your message loud and clear."  She then continued with a formal tone, "In case you didn't know, our people take that action very seriously. You don't give someone Skyflowers unless you are determined to persuade courtship with that person."

"Who wants to court you?!" The aqua-haired girl argued.

"Well, we shall see," Uranus teased with a smirk on her face, ignoring Michiru's comment. "One day when I'm ready to get married and if I still haven't met the right girl, then I  _might_  consider you."

The only response from Michiru was her gape. It seemed like she wanted to say something but at a loss of words. Uranus grinned seeing Michiru's reaction and decided to take her joke a bit further.

"Oh, is that not good enough for you? Okay, how about 'I  _will_ consider you' then? Is that what you want to hear?"

"Don't flatter yourself!"

Uranus then teased Michiru again by taking her hand and stroking her palm in a light caress. The aqua haired girl tried to retrieve her hand but the blonde princess did not let go. Her action caused Michiru's cheeks to blush like cherries.

At the same time, Uranian had started returning to Miranda Castle. A few guards resumed patrolling the garden. Voices were heard saying Princess Uranus was probably at the garden.

"Your Highness! Are you there?" the guards yelled from afar.

The two teenagers were surprised by what they heard. Uranus knew that her identity would be revealed there instead, but she was prepared for it since she was ready to disclose it anyway when she decided to take Michiru to the apothecary. She wondered how the bodyguard would respond to that news.

To her surprise, Michiru suddenly drew back her hand and took a few steps back from her.

"I'm sorry, Haruka, I can't stay here anymore," the aqua haired girl said. "Haruka, I'm sorry if I caused any confusion, or misled you in anyway, but-"

"But what?" Uranus asked.

"I don't know if I will ever see you again," said Michiru. As the sounds of footsteps became louder, the aqua-haired girl said regretfully, "I really should get going now. Bye Haruka..."

"Michiru…"

Uranus wanted to stop her, but the aqua-haired girl ran away and disappeared from her sight briskly.

After Michiru left the garden, the blonde princess assured to her guards that she was well, before making her way back to the palace. As soon as she stepped into her residence, the butler informed her that Neptune and her travel companions had departed. Acknowledging the news, since it wasn't much of a surprise to her, Uranus grew silent and quietly went up to the deck.

Days, weeks, and months went by after Neptune's second visit at Miranda Castle, things had been quiet at the planets in the outer solar system. The battle had wiped out a substantial amount of enemy force in the Dark Kingdom and there was no response from Queen Beryl since then. There were some structural damages at Miranda Castle, but the citadel had since been mended and refortified.

However still left to be restored was the damage inflicted on Uranus and Neptune's partnership. Uranus had twice attempted to rearrange another meeting with Neptune, but both times she ran into schedule conflicts with the aqua-haired princess.

* * *

**979, Moon Castle**

Queen Serenity invited Neptune to Moon Castle for a retreat as her appreciation of another beautiful painting the Neptunian princess had done for her gallery. Princess Venus also came along since she asked the Queen to let her spend some time with her friend and Princess Serenity.

In one afternoon during the retreat, the Queen asked Neptune to meet her at her sitting room of the palace for a quick chat, a rare invitation from the Queen as she would only meet her guest in one of the drawing rooms.

"Your Majesty," Neptune announced her arrival before walking in. Queen Serenity was standing with her back facing the princess, admiring a painting.

"Neptune," the Queen turned around and offered an elegant smile. "It's great to see you here."

Neptune walked up to the silver-haired queen and gracefully bobbed a curtsey.

The Queen offered the aqua-haired princess a seat on the couch. The conversation started with Neptune thanking Queen Serenity for her generous offer and how much she was enjoying the retreat, she then briefly provided updates of the state of affairs on her planet as a formality.

Everything went on as usual. At some point the Queen offered Neptune a light snack as they continued to converse. There was nothing brought up that the Neptunian princess was not expecting to discuss. Queen Serenity also paused in between their conversations, and Neptune waited patiently until the Queen spoke again.

Neptune found it a bit unusual that her meeting would be at the sitting room and it seemed to carry on much longer over minuscule details.

Towards the end of their meeting, Neptune got up politely and bid her farewell. But before the Princess walked out of the sitting room, Queen Serenity began.

"Neptune."

"Yes, Your Majesty," said Neptune. She halted her footsteps and turned around.

"There's something I would like to know."

Feeling that something would be brought up when she least expected it, Neptune said, "I will say nothing but the truth."

The Queen gazed at the young princess for a few seconds, and then she asked, "Did you know why I invited you here?"

Even with the Queen's scrutinized look, Neptune held her composure and remained a still facial expression.

"Please enlighten me."

Queen Serenity smiled and took her hand instead.

"Neptune, I knew you are different. You must know that I invited you here not to chat about your state of affairs. Had I not brought this up, you would simply stay silent and bid farewell to me, wouldn't you?"

With Queen Serenity's words, Neptune smiled understandingly.

"Your Majesty, I have not the slightest intention of hiding anything from you."

"Very well," The Queen smiled, "then I'd like you to shed some lights on what's stopping you from meeting up with Princess Uranus."

Neptune had thought about the possibility of this being brought up, so she had an answer already.

"It's unfortunate that our partnership did not work out the way you had hoped."

"Neptune, I know that already," Queen Serenity's tone revealed a slight dissatisfaction in her answer, "and I also know about your last visit there and the battle you had fought. But I want to offer a chance for you to provide an elucidation."

The last sentence gave Neptune a pause. With that said, Uranus must have given her side of the story to the Queen already.

"Pardon me for the redundant details," Neptune said, "I regret that Princess Uranus and I missed each other a few times by chance and had several less than perfect conversations. I will work on improving that."

"You always have a proper and judicious answer," said the Queen. Her tone and slight smile displayed disappointment in her answer.

Hearing the Queen's feedback and seeing her facial expression, Neptune spoke no more.

"There were plenty of opportunities to rebuild that partnership in the past year, if that  _was_  a priority for you," Queen Serenity said calmly, but her words were sharp. "It would please me that you put more weighs on making yourself a better senshi  _partner_ , instead of a more capable senshi  _fighter_ , if that makes sense."

"Your Majesty, you're right. I had no excuse for not working on that."

"Neptune," the Queen looked into Neptune's blue eyes with a sincere concern, "there's no need to apologize. I know what you have done for Uranian and the outer solar system, and you deserve more recognition than what you received from everyone, especially Uranus."

"T-that was not my expectation. I was always glad to help."

"Did you know that Uranus actually helped you at the summit?"

"Uranus?"

"Her Space Sword sent power to your Mirror when you were surrounded by enemies."

Neptune startled. Her suspicion turned out to be correct. It  _was_  Uranus's Space Sword that became the turning point of the battle, which freed her from the droids' encirclement by sending powers to her Deep Aqua Mirror.

"I am repentant that my strategies and power weren't good or strong enough to defeat our enemies," the aqua-haired princess sounded remorseful.

"Neptune, that's not what I expected you to do. You had the best intention and you are a very capable fighter. But I wanted you to see that working as a team can be more effective and efficient than a strong fighter and an astute strategist like you, fighting alone."

Neptune remained quiet. Queen Serenity turned away from the princess and walked towards the windows, appreciating the view of earth from where she stood.

"I know about your conversation with Uranus too," the Queen informed.

"From Uranus?" The aqua-haired princess asked, "I'm sure she still holds a grudge against what I did." Since Uranus had the chance to tell her side of the story, Neptune speculated that the blonde princess did not have much good things to say about her, provided that the conversation over their communicators was poor at best.

Queen Serenity sighed slightly, "She actually claimed responsibilities for everything and said that she was solely reprehensible for how you feel about her. But I actually think that you both contributed to this. Neptune, It's not a partnership when you had to act alone without informing, or finding ways to communicate your plan with Uranus. Shutting off your communicator shouldn't be part of your strategy. When you did that you assumed too much risk on yourself and your collateral. I hope this goes into your considerations in your future strategies."

When the aqua-haired princess remained quiet, Queen Serenity proposed a new plan.

"I am actually starting to consider the option of having Uranus partnering with Pluto instead, since they work really well together. That way it can lift the burden from your shoulders so that you can continue to thrive individually."

Neptune was shocked by what she heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that some of you are longing to see Uranus and Neptune meeting up officially. I promise it will happen!


	7. Chapter 7

Neptune stood in stunned silence after hearing Queen Serenity's plan. She wouldn't presume this was what the Queen had in mind.

The Queen turned around slowly to the startled Princess.

"Neptune, what do you say if I implement this plan?" She asked relaxingly, as if she were merely looking for a casual opinion.

Uranus and Pluto? Neptune thought. Right, the two princesses had fought together a few times. But replacing her with Pluto was way more than a simple change of plan and direction. It wasn't just an indication that she and Uranus did not make good partners, it would also be a statement that she was the one who was unable to collaborate with another senshi or form a partnership.

The aqua-haired princess knew that she was in no position to negotiate with the Queen, and she probably didn't have much leverage over her decision at this point. The silver-haired queen gazed at the young princess, expecting Neptune to be honest and heartfelt with her answer.

The aqua-haired girl took a deep breath and began.

"Your Majesty, it sounds like you have lost your faith in me as a sailor senshi; it seems like you think that I had no intention in forming any partnership with Uranus."

Queen Serenity's bright silver eyes were still on the princess but she did not respond.

Neptune reassessed her stance and continued, "I know that I am in no place to ask you to reconsider that decision, but I am very grateful for the opportunity that you have given me. As much as it might be hard to believe given what you have already seen and heard, I do care very much about my partnership with Uranus. I…"

Neptune paused as her response made the Queen's gaze softened. It seemed as if she was being reassessed instead.

"Carry on," Queen Serenity allowed.

"I know that I am far from perfect, and I struggled with this feeling a lot," Neptune continued. "In the past year, I was angry, at no one but myself. Each time I reflected on that battle, I realized how much more I need to ameliorate myself in order to become a better senshi, for the Kingdom, for my planet, and for my partner. As much as I wanted to prove that I am a capable senshi and a worthy partner to Uranus should that opportunity arises again, but..." she suddenly paused. 

"But?"

"But," The aqua-haired princess paused again. She lowered her lashes with a sad smile. "I must realize that you have every reason not to wait until I am ready. I would be happy for Uranus to partner with the right senshi instead. I-I just have to accept that perception is reality and I need to respect that-"

"No, that's not true," the silver-haired queen assured. The tone of her voice was almost sympathetic.

"No?" Neptune slowly raised her lashes again and looked at the Queen innocently.

Queen Serenity paused. She turned around and looked out of the window again.

Neptune waited quietly for some guidance from the Queen for her statement.

After a while, the elegant queen turned around with her eyebrows raised.

"Neptune!" She said with a raised voice and gave the princess a penetrating stare.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Neptune responded in a soothing voice, lowering her head slightly in order to show her respect.

"Obviously your training has prepared you well, or I should say much better than what I had expected," the Queen returned to a calmer tone but she said it in a way that was neither complimentary nor sarcastic. At this point the aqua-haired princess started questioning whether her words had gone too far.

"What else can I say? You have led me to say no my own plan already," Queen Serenity said. Finally a rather warm smile appeared on her face, and she continued, "You used your words tactfully and made me either disagree with 'my perceptions of you' as you suggested, or invalidate the claim that 'perception is reality' if those perceptions were true at all."

The aqua-haired princess smiled humbly.

" _Princess Neptune_ , you are quite a shrewd negotiator, aren't you?" Queen Serenity huffed slightly and shook her head.

"Pardon me, Your Majesty," Neptune answered gratefully. "I knew you were testing me since you could have made that decision without asking for my opinion, but I can assure you that my answer was sincere and I appreciate you giving me a chance to voice that." 

"You have impressed me again. I have no doubt in your abilities and still believe that you and Uranus will make great partners," the Queen said. "I trust you to make your own judgment in deciding when it's the best time to meet with Uranus again."

Neptune was delighted. She bowed gracefully, "Your Majesty, it's such an honor to have your blessing and trust again."

Queen Serenity nodded approvingly, "Very well, Neptune. Now if you excuse me, I've got to meet with my counselor in the drawing room. You're welcome to stay here if you like, or join Venus at Celeste Garden."

* * *

**Celeste Garden, Moon Castle**

Neptune entered the royal garden to look for Venus. While searching for her friend, she relaxingly looked around and enjoyed the calm and peaceful scene of the garden. The garden was filled with colorful flowers and the scent of floral smelled warm and earthy. The aqua-haired princess took a deep breath to capture the unique scent that she could only find from the capital of the Kingdom.

Suddenly, she picked up a scent that was foreign but intriguing. It smelled different than anything she could see from her surroundings. She looked but nothing seemed unusual to her. She continued to browse around to see if Venus was nearby.

She passed by an area where topiaries were seen and stopped to take a closer look at them. She was always interested in artsy crafts. There were some that resembled long ears, four legs, fluffy bodies with a tail that looked like a ball. Neptune supposed that those are imaginary creatures that Princess Serenity loved.

As she was appreciating the creative designs, she picked up the same scent again. She quickly transformed and summoned her mirror to look for signs of enemies, but it did not show her anything unusual. It was quite odd that the scent would linger for so long. She felt uncomfortable feeling like someone was following her but she couldn't see that person.

As she tried to ignore it again, she heard some quiet, subtle footsteps approaching.

Neptune briskly turned around with her hand raised. She was prepared to hurl her Deep Submerge attack if it turned out to be an enemy. When she saw that it wasn't a youma or some monster, she finally lowered her hand.

The other person seemed startled seeing what Neptune was trying to do. Yet there was a smile on his face.

"Princess Neptune."

"Pardon me. I don't recognize you. Have we met before?" Neptune asked.

"I believe so," the other person answered with a sincere smile.

Neptune looked more carefully. He was a good-looking young man. He was wearing an outfit that denoted his royal status, but she couldn't recall having met someone like that before.

"I am sorry, I don't remember," she answered and pondered for a moment. He was tall, and had dark purplish black hair and deep purple eyes. Based on what Venus described, he seemed to have similar features as Princess Serenity's friend, Prince Endymion. It would make sense for him to be at the Moon Palace, correct? But could Venus had the color wrong and said blue instead of purple? Wait, that wouldn't explain it since she hadn't met Prince Endymion before.

The young man smiled.

"There's no need to apologize. I supposed you wouldn't remember since we met when we were much younger. I'm Prince Daphnis of Saturn, the older brother of Princess Saturn."

Neptune's memory finally served her right. Yes she met Prince Daphnis years ago, probably when she was around six years old when Queen and King of Neptune took her to Saturn for a visit. She had a short stay there and during that time she met and hung out with Prince Daphnis. He was two years older than her. They both took deep interest in music – the young Neptune was already fluent in violin and was beginning to learn the harp, and he played the flute brilliantly.

"It's nice to see you again Prince Daphnis," Neptune smiled. "Now I remember, you still have those noiseless footsteps."

Prince Daphnis laughed, "Your memory is not that bad if you can still remember that."

The two caught up with things that happened on their own planets during the years they didn't seen each other.

"So are you here visiting?" Neptune asked.

"Sort of," Prince Daphnis replied. "I am also delivering invitations for my little sister's birthday. She will turn twelve in a few months." .

"Congratulations! She was just a baby when I last saw her," Neptune said. "I bet I won't recognize her now."

"And you were only six when I last saw you, but I do recognize your distinct aqua hair," he chuckled. "I will need to deliver an invitation to your planet anyway, so seeing you here will probably save me a trip."

"Definitely," the aqua-haired princess replied quickly, "I'll be there." 

"That'd be great! Actually, I also have a favor to ask if you don't mind."

"I'd be happy to help if I could."

"May I have the honor to ask you to play the harp at the reception? I have quite a few flute and harp pieces but I'm having a hard time finding a harpist. Then I came across a reliable source who told me that you're the best in the Solar System so I figured I'd ask you instead."

Neptune smiled, "I'd be glad to play at the reception. But I must ask, who's this reliable source?"

"I appreciate it," The tall young man responded. "I just saw Princess Venus moments ago - I'm sure your best friend has a pretty good gauge of your talent and I trust her words."

The eyes of the aqua-haired princess widened. 

"I bet you two ladies will have a lot to catch up on so I'll let you go. I have more invitations to deliver too. Thanks again for your help – looking forward to seeing you at the party!"

"Bye Prince Daphnis!"

Neptune continued to walk further into the garden to look for Venus. As she was deciding how to hold her friend accountable for making such outrageously bold claim, she heard sounds of frolicking nearby. Neptune knew that the long blonde haired princess was within steps away from her.

She found her friend cheerfully swinging back and forth on one of the two flower swings hanging from a tall tree.

"Venus!" Neptune yelled over.

"Hey Neptune you're back? Come join me!" The long haired princess waved to her friend.

The wavy-haired princess sat on the other swing but swung slowly instead.

"Neptune! You're no fun!" Venus complained.

"I'm perfectly fine not swinging like a young child like you," Neptune teased.

"Thanks for the compliment Neptune, that means I'm still young at heart!" Venus rebutted.

"How was your meeting with Queen Serenity?"

"It was fine."

"Come on, you know I want more details than this. Was she upset at you for not meeting Uranus?"

"It is understandable that Her Majesty was concerned about the partnership, but I think the conversation turned out okay," said Neptune, tying to keep the details of the conversation discreet.

"Just 'okay'? Oh my, I wish I were there so I could help you with my sweet words," Venus said sympathetically. She sighed and shook her head.

Neptune chuckled and joked, "Of course, I wished you were there as well."

The two princess friends continued to enjoy the swing and chat with each other.

"Did you see Prince Daphnis on your way here?" Venus asked, "He was extending invitations for Princess Saturn's birthday celebration." 

"I did see him," Neptune replied.

"Are you going?"

"Of course, and I'll play the harp at the reception too, since  _a reliable source told him that I'm the best harpist in the entire Solar System_."

Venus started giggling like a young child.

"Venus, how is that funny?" Neptune said with a puzzled look on her face. "That's such a presumptuous claim!" 

"But I do think you are the best harpist," Venus explained innocently, she then giggled again. "Plus, did you know that Prince Daphnis hasn't entered into a courtship with anyone yet?"

"So what?"

Venus's eyes widened.

"Did you lose count of your years Neptune? You're sixteen already! It's about time that you start meeting, you know, someone during Balls and parties."

"Is that why you wanted me to play my instrument with him at the reception then?" Neptune asked incredulously. "Thanks a bunch for that. Actually, didn't I tell you that we met when we were little? We are nothing more than friends."

"Oh that's right! I remember now!" Neptune's response seemed to give Venus some ideas. "That's even better! You two started off as childhood sweethearts, you play the violin and the harp and he plays the flute, you two were separated for years, then eventually meet again at the right time and enter into a courtship-" The blonde princess started her musing.

"Stop Venus!" Neptune protested, "I'm not interested in him."

"Why not?" Venus inquired, "don't you think Prince Daphnis is quite handsome? He is talented and kind as well. I wonder why he hasn't found someone yet."

"Why don't  _you_  pursue him then?"

"Because I have found someone I like already."

"You did?" Neptune was surprised. "Was it the same green-eyed prince you told me about?"

"Actually no, but he has silver hair too!"

"I'd love to hear about how he won you over," Neptune said.

Venus told Neptune about Kunzite, a general to Prince Endymion, about how they met, their interactions, and how they fell in love with each other. Venus described everything in great details, from the length of his silver hair to what color and food he liked.

Neptune smiled as she listened to the younger princess describing the supposedly dreamy and handsome and kindhearted general. When Venus mentioned that she fell in love with Kunzite after he helped her with a minor injury and then held her hand, the aqua haired princess suddenly found herself thinking about a similar occasion she had with the Oberon guard on the Uranian planet, and a rosy blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Neptune?"

Neptune quickly snapped out of her recollection.

"Wow, you seemed really carried away with my story," Venus joked.

"I was indeed," Neptune teased.

* * *

**Umbriel Laboratory, Uranus**

Everyone except for one in the Solar System had confirmed their attendance for Princess Saturn's birthday party.

The only one who the Saturnian royal family was still waiting to hear from was Princess Uranus. The blonde princess wanted to celebrate Saturn's birthday, but she was inclined to send her regrets to Titan Castle instead.

"You have no excuse not to attend – even I have confirmed my attendance already," Pluto said. The phthalo-green haired princess. She took a trip to the Uranian planet to collect some samples for her new research project.

"I know that. But since that attack, I'm always wary of leaving my castle," Uranus explained.

"Uranus, it's going to be fine," Pluto assured. "Since then our castles have been re-fortified and our systems are much better sensing incoming enemies and sending communications to us. Plus, didn't you leave for a while to assist planet Kinmoku at Queen Serenity's request and everything was still fine here when you returned?"

"But still-" Uranus was hesitant.

Pluto had already known that Neptune would be there. She thought that this would be a great chance for Uranus to reconnect and possibly meet face to face with Neptune. But the phthalo green-haired princess stayed quiet instead – she did not plan on using this fact to convince Uranus to go, as she believed that ultimately it was up to Uranus to make that decision.

"Well, it is up to you then. If you decided to go, don't forget to bring Princess Saturn a gift," Pluto said as she continued to collect samples. "I heard that she likes anything purple, and likes to collecting lamps." 

"Those are really unique preferences," Uranus said, raising an eyebrow.

* * *

**Titan Castle**

The Saturnian planet hosted the birthday party for the Princess Saturn. Royal and noble families from the solar system came to witness and celebrate the twelfth birthday of the lovely young princess.

The celebration commenced in the afternoon, in a picnic theme party that took place by the creek in the forest-like Rhea Garden. There were Saturnian delicacies and beverages served and the birthday cake was in dark purple hue. Princess Saturn, the youngest princess in the Solar System, was excited to meet and see other princesses and princes, and curiously asked about everything on their planets and enjoyed learning various things from them.

Later in the evening, the party moved indoor to the ballroom.

The ballroom at Saturn was quite a scene, it was a very large space that appeared to be inviting, yet at the same time its design made it appear a bit mysterious. In the room, the walls and marble columns were set in purple tone, and there were lamp-like chandeliers hanging all over the ballroom. The stage was situated at the mezzanine level, giving musicians privacy and eliminating distractions from the audience.

Music began to play from the mezzanine. There were sounds of harp but the type of music was certainly not meant for the occasion – it was not festive or lively for birthday celebration, and it was hardly traditional ballroom music. The melody was beautiful and reminiscent though, and it was the type that aimed to modulate mood and provoke thoughts. The mood of the music would have been a bit melancholic if it were played on a cello or a violin, but arranging and playing it on the harp was an interesting idea since it sounded joyful and relaxing instead. There were also a few pieces played by flute and harp duet. Attendees were impressed by the angelic sound produced from the mezzanine. Everyone tried to look up but couldn't see anything except the marble railings and balusters.

Some princesses and princes and their companions were seen dancing slowly in the ballroom to the soothing and healing music, while others were standing by the sides of the room, appreciating the dance and enjoying some chatter.

During the middle of the reception, the grand door in the ballroom opened and admitted a tall and handsome individual in short blonde hair and mesmerizing blue eyes. The attractive young person was wearing a marine blue prince suit with gold embellishments, and decorated with an extravagant jabot below the neckline.

The attractive appearance of this young person immediately caught the eyes of many from the ballroom.

Uranus looked around briefly and slowly made her way into the grand room to meet Pluto.

"Sorry I'm late," Uranus said.

"Uranus, I'm glad that you finally decided to come," Pluto commented.

"Thanks Pluto, I'm glad to see you here," Uranus said politely.

"Well, maybe you should save that line for all the admiring eyes that you are going to have to respond to," Pluto made a rare tease.

Uranus didn't need Pluto to remind her that she had attracted a lot of attention in the ballroom. She smiled as she sensed that a few were making their ways towards her.

"Well, I was going to enjoy this thought provoking harp music by myself, but it looks like I have to satisfy a few ladies on the dance floor instead." The blonde haired princess jokingly predicted.

"Go ahead," Pluto said smiling.

Uranus smiled at the ladies coming her way and greeted them. She then courteously asked each of them to dance with her. She walked her partner to the dance floor and led the dance. She also made some small chats and complimented her partner as their bodies move along together to the soothing music.

After several pieces were played, the handsome blonde princess still had a queue of admiring women hoping to dance with her. And it wasn't until the music paused before Uranus found herself alone again.

Just then, a young lady walked up to Uranus. The blonde princess offered her a warm smile. The young lady looked at her, and her eyes lit up.

"Hi, beautiful lady," Uranus said in a light tone. "What a shame. I would love to dance with you, but unfortunately the music had stopped."

The lady shook her head instead.

* * *

**Mezzanine level - Grand Ballroom**

The music program took a short break.

"Princess Neptune," Prince Daphnis said, "this is all for the harp pieces. Thank you so much for your generous help today. You played brilliantly. I'd be glad to return the favor if you need me."

"You're welcome," Neptune said with a smile. "I'm glad to help."

"Thanks again, please enjoy yourself for the rest of the party."

Neptune nodded and walked towards the staircase that led to the grand ballroom.

* * *

**Ground level - Grand Ballroom**

Music resumed again in the ballroom. There were no more sound of harps, replacing that was cheerful flute music.

"Now that music has resumed, would you like to dance with me?" Uranus offered, extending her hand towards the young lady.

"No," she answered.

"No?" Uranus was surprised. Every lady who approached her this evening had been wanting to dance with her, except for this one. "Then what would you like to do?"

"Come with me."

Before Uranus's question was answered, the young lady abruptly took the short haired princess's hand and dragged her to follow her.

"Excuse me, young lady. May I ask where are we going?" Uranus was confused by her action.

"You will know." The young lady said and led the way. As they slipped through the crowd and searched around the ballroom, she looked back at Uranus briefly, "I'm taking you to meet my friend, and I want you to dance with her."

"Who's your friend?"

"Hold on, I'm looking for her."

After some searches on the dance floor and around the corners, the young lady still couldn't find her friend.

"Bear with me, she has to be here by now."

Uranus pulled her to a stop instead.

"Pardon me. Let's stop browsing around aimlessly," Uranus suggested, gently freeing her own hand from the grasp.

"But..."

"I can assure you that I would appreciate meeting your friend and even dancing with her, but you seem to have trouble locating her. Now if you excuse me, I see a friend whom I'd like to catch up with. If you end up finding your friend, then I'd love to meet her." The blonde princess said politely and started walking away.

Just then, Neptune had made her way down the staircase from the mezzanine.

"There she is!" Venus exclaimed. She quickly ran up to Uranus again, clutching onto her arm and turning her around.

"Neptune! Neptune! Look who I found for you!" Venus excitedly said as she took Uranus with her and ran towards the aqua-haired princess.

As Neptune turned her attention towards her friend and the person she dragged along with, she couldn't believe what she saw.

Uranus was shocked too, realizing that the young lady's friend was actually Neptune.

Venus guided Uranus to stand facing Neptune.

Neptune and Uranus were both speechless from the shock while Venus smiled proudly.

"Neptune, remember what you said at Magellan?" Venus whispered, but her volume was audible enough for anyone standing within steps away. "I found the prince of your dreams! Doesn't he have beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Uranus and Neptune finally met each other (officially)! Did you expect it to happen like this?
> 
> -The harp music described at the reception was inspired by Schubert's Schwanengesang (Swan Song), D. 957: No. 4 Ständchen (Serenade) and Schumann's Kinderszenen (Scenes from childhood), Op. 15


	8. Chapter 8

 

Thanks to Neptune's inadvertent joke and Venus's overzealous intention to be a matchmaker for her friend, the senshi partners who supposed to meet years ago but kept missing each other finally came face to face at the party.

Neptune was too stunned to respond to Venus's misunderstanding. Her mind couldn't reconcile with what her eyes saw - the person standing in front of her was Haruka the Oberon guard whom she already knew; but  _he was_ wearing a  _prince_  suit in Uranian's official marine blue color. From all she knew Haruka was not in the royal household and there was no prince of Uranus on her partner's planet. This left with only one possibility of who  _he_  truly was.

Uranus was also stunned, but in a different way. She obviously wasn't expecting the young girl's friend to be Neptune and to meet her senshi partner officially in such way. She did not anticipate her senshi partner to look much different than the bodyguard she knew though, since Michiru was forthcoming about the alikeness of her appearance to Neptune. But she was rather astonished by Neptune's reaction.

While the two princesses stayed silent, Venus decided to break the ice. She turned to Uranus and said in a jovial tone, "Let me introduce - this is my best friend, the beautiful and talented Princess Neptune, she was the one playing the harp on the mezzanine just now." She then giggled and whispered next to the tall princess's ear, "I knew you would be shocked by how gorgeous she is. You're welcome!"

Venus then turned to her friend, preparing for an introduction. That was when she finally realized that she was too excited when she saw the blond and forgot to even ask who  _he_  was.

"Neptune, I haven't had a chance to ask who he is," Venus said and shrugged, "but he said he would love to meet and dance with you." She looked at Uranus again, "and you are…?"

Uranus gazed at Neptune and hesitated. It was the simplest and most straightforward question yet ironically she was unsure of how to answer that. She wasn't sure how Neptune would react to this.

Neptune felt anxious even though she already knew the answer she was going to hear.

"I…I" Uranus began but stuttered.

"Are you shy?" Venus teased. "You certainly didn't come off like that on the dance floor."

The short-haired princess remained silent. Her eyes were still on Neptune.

Venus glanced between Uranus and Neptune and tried to study their facial expressions. She repeated it several times and finally sensed that something wasn't right.

"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" She asked innocently.

"No, Venus," Neptune assured. She closed her eyes and swallowed. "Let me introduce instead."

"Huh? I'm confused-" Venus said frowning.

The aqua-haired princess opened her eyes, "This is Princess Uranus, my senshi partner." She said calmly but firmly.

Hearing her friend's introduction, Venus gave an agonized gasp and was about to scream.

"Venus, just-" Neptune wanted to downplay the surprise but it was too late.

"What?!" Venus shouted instead, she looked at Uranus and shook her head disbelievingly. "You?! You can't be U-"

The interaction between the three princesses started drawing attentions from the ballroom.

"Princess Neptune is right," Uranus assured, "I  _am_  Uranus."

"Why Neptune?" Venus returned her attention to Neptune, obviously still perplexed and bothered by the fact, "When did you two…? I thought...how come you never said anything about this?!"

"Venus, it's a long story…"

Instead of listening to Neptune's explanation, Venus pouted and gave Uranus an angry stare. Having known some details behind the dispute between Uranus and Neptune, she felt contrite for bringing Uranus to  _meet_  Neptune and even suggesting them to dance. She took Neptune's arm and whispered to her friend, "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have brought  _him_ , I mean her, to you. Let's go!"

At this point more eyes were focusing on the interaction between the three princesses as Venus tried to pull Neptune away.

Being in the center of attention, Neptune wanted to make the best out of this awkward moment. She gently patted Venus's hand that was holding onto her own arm and said softly, "Venus, thanks for introducing  _the prince of my dreams_  to me, I really appreciate it."

Uranus and Venus were both surprised by her words.

Neptune then turned to Uranus. With a warm smile, she bowed and said politely, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Princess Uranus. I would love to dance with you."

Uranus understood Neptune's intent to mitigate the situation and decided to go with the flow as well. With the corners of her lips turning upward, she bowed as well and responded, "The honor is mine, Princess Neptune." She also thanked Venus for the introduction before extending her hand to Neptune.

The wavy-haired princess placed her hand on Uranus's palm. As Uranus's fingers closed around hers, she allowed herself to be led to the dance floor.

At this time, Prince Daphnis was playing a piece in lively tempo on the mezzanine. Many on the dance floor had opted to take a break rather than keeping up with the fast cadence. That left most of the floor space to Neptune and Uranus.

One would expect the gorgeous princess and the handsome  _prince_  to dance together elegantly, but this couldn't be farther from the truth for the two princesses who were about to dance.

Uranus and Neptune started off like untamed wind and treacherous sea. They were skilled but lack harmony and synchronization. Perhaps the ebullient tempo made it difficult to start as a first dance, but being their first official meeting plus having a history of misunderstanding each other certainly didn't help one iota. They began with dissonant moves and made quite a few missteps - Uranus tried to spin Neptune but ended up getting elbowed on her abdomen, and then the change of hands from behind ended up with their arms tied in knots instead. It was embarrassing and almost painful to watch.

Guests watching from the sides had expressions mixed between feeling sorry for them, trying not to grimace, and holding back laughter. Some even whispered and commented how horrible they danced together. Venus placed her hand across her face and shook her head disapprovingly, wondering if the two princesses had lost their minds from the shock. Pluto watched with an inscrutable facial expression, it wasn't clear whether she thought of them the same way as other guests.

Surprisingly, the only people who seemed to care about how Neptune and Uranus danced were everyone else but the dancers. As music played on, they continued to dance like nobody was watching. They carried on as if it were a mission that they needed to accomplish together and neither partner was willing to give up. They kept moving their bodies and tried to improve their coordination by making tweaks here and there in order to adjust. In between mistakes, they had short exchanges of words and even shared some laughter.

Gradually they made fewer mistakes and found more harmony. They were also seen giving each other encouraging smiles as they made moves more successful than the previous ones.

The next piece was played in a slower and more manageable pace, and the two princesses had much better control at that point. Their steps were more coordinated and their moves were smoother. It started to look more like the soothing breeze brushing gently over the placid sea surface, generating rhythmic and gentle rolling waves. It was surprising to see such improvement in a matter of only two pieces of music. Venus was shocked at the transformation and couldn't believe that it actually happened; and Pluto finally showed a smile of satisfaction on her face.

As Uranus and Neptune continued to dance together, they grew more comfortable with each other and were more relaxed. For a few moments, they even gazed into each other's eyes unknowingly.

The two princesses finally came to a stop after a few more dances. Standing on the sleek marble floor, Neptune and Uranus found themselves in proximity so close that they could almost feel each other's heartbeat. One of their hands was still engaged in the handhold position while the other was holding onto the partner's body. Their blue eyes looked fixedly at each other.

"Princess Neptune," Uranus smiled. She said in her low, deep voice, "thank you for dancing with me."

Neptune did not respond, but her eyes were still gazing at the blonde princess.

"Princess Neptune?"

Instead of returning a smile, the aqua-haired princess suddenly gasped lightly. She gave a few quick blinks and looked away, breaking their eye contact. She withdrew her hand from Uranus's hold and her other hand was no longer around the taller princess's shoulder.

"Thank you, Princess Uranus," Neptune said with a forced smile, appearing as if she just gathered herself together. "Pardon me, I need to get some fresh air." (Let's assume it existed on Saturn)

She bowed again to the blonde princess and left the dance floor, leaving Uranus wondered if she had said anything wrong.

Uranus tried to follow Neptune but was stopped by Venus.

"What did you say to Neptune?" The long-haired princess demanded.

Uranus was left with no choice but to shed some light on their prior encounters.

Neptune retreated to a quiet terrace in order to collect herself; she needed a moment to reconcile the conflicting thoughts in her head.

Who was the person she just danced with moments ago? Was it Uranus or Haruka? Obviously the question was redundant since she knew the answer already, but she barely knew  _her_. Or did she know  _her_  because she had already known  _him_?  How could it explain why her heart was pounding at a beat that she never felt before?

Setting the dance aside, everything that happened this evening was far beyond her expectation. Besides not anticipating meeting Uranus or even dancing with her, she would have never imagined that of all people on the Uranian planet, Haruka was actually her senshi partner; the Oberon guard whom she thought was a boy, was actually Princess Uranus.

Not only she met Uranus on her very first visit, she was actually interacting with her the whole time, face to face, and in all subsequent encounters.

As she recounted their interactions, things started to come together and she finally understood why they kept missing each other. But things were not crystal clear yet and she still had some unanswered questions that she wanted to explore further.

Soon Uranus joined Neptune at the terrace. She looked around and found the aqua-haired princess standing alone by the column, overlooking the courtyard and the entrance to Rhea Garden.

She walked closer toward Neptune, but stopped just steps away from her.

"Princess Neptune," Uranus greeted politely.

"Am I?" Neptune asked in a mysterious tone, without turning around to Uranus. "How do you know for sure that I am Neptune? I haven't shown you my Mirror."

Uranus smiled and said calmly, "Like Michiru said, that's my problem to solve – you don't need to prove anything."

Neptune stayed quiet.

"Hmm?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I trust a guard who frequently walks away from  _his_  own station," Neptune responded teasingly.

Uranus laughed softly, "But at least  _he_ didn't disobey Princess Neptune's order, right?"

Neptune giggled. Recalling their last interaction, she realized that she did miss  _Haruka_. Well, Uranus to be exact. She thought. The same person standing behind her.

Suddenly, Neptune also realized that Uranus cared a lot about Michiru, because she raced to the garden looking for  _her_ shortly after arriving at Cordelia Naval Station. It explained that she was concerned over  _Michiru_ 's safety when not seeing _her_  evacuating Miranda Castle with everyone.

So when they were dancing, did Uranus see her as Neptune or Michiru? The warm smile on Uranus's face and the lingering eye contact that she gave, were those signs that she missed Michiru, or was she just being friendly to Neptune in front of everyone? Suddenly, she found her cheeks rose in temperature and her heartbeat was speeding up again.

"Neptune?"

Uranus's calling interrupted Neptune from her musing. The aqua-haired princess finally turned around to her senshi partner.

"Neptune, I know neither of us expected this evening to turn out like this. Plus, there are things that we still need to discuss, I-"

Just then, Neptune received a call from her planet.

"Pardon me."

It turned out Queen Beryl was sending troops towards Triton Castle. The force was not far away from the outermost moon of Neptune.

"Sorry Uranus, I'd love to discuss further but-"

"Is everything okay?"

"Enemies are approaching my planet. I must go now."

Neptune transformed. As she was preparing to take off, a hand held onto hers from behind. She didn't need to turn around to know who that was – she was just holding onto this strong but gentle hand on the dance floor moments ago.

"Now that we have met each other, are you sure you still want to fight alone?" Uranus asked.

Neptune paused. Frankly she had never thought of this since she had been fighting without a partner the entire time. When her planet called she assumed that it was just another day that she had to fight by herself and the thought of asking Uranus for assistance just didn't come across her mind at all. She realized that this was actually the opportunity for her to fight alongside Uranus that she had long been waiting for.

She turned around, and when she did she was shocked to see a transformed Guardian Uranus. She was stunned by how magnificent and strong her senshi partner looked.

"What do you say, Neptune?"

"No, I'd like you to come along," the aqua-haired guardian gave Uranus a sincere smile, holding onto her hand firmly.

* * *

**Triton Castle**

Uranus and Neptune arrived at Triton Castle in no time.

Neptune was surprised by the minimal time they spent to get there. She definitely had never traversed such distance in speed remotely close to this before.

"How did we get here so quickly?" She asked. All she remembered was that she summoned her Deep Aqua Mirror and Uranus summoned her Space Sword. While they held onto each other's hand, Uranus raised the Sword above them and the next thing she knew, they were standing in front of her palace.

"After that night my Sword sent lights towards your Mirror, it started to give me some sort of teleportation ability," Uranus answered.

Neptune was still amazed by its ability, but she knew it was time to get into action soon even though their early arrival would give them some time to prepare.

"What's your plan Neptune?"

The aqua-haired princess checked her Mirror, and then began, "Looks like the enemy force is quite large this time. Come on, I'll give you a quick walk-through of the castle so we that can better strategize this."

"But I  _am_  familiar with it already," Uranus said.

"You are?" Neptune asked, surprised.

"Well,  _your bodyguard_  told me all about it when we went through her sketchbook," Uranus said jokingly.

Neptune chuckled.

"Well then, Let me give you some other info that might be handy. There are only two entrances to the castle, the east and west wing. The east side is more elevated. There's a river that runs from the east side and ends at a waterfall on the west side"

"Got it."

"They are coming towards the east side – this troop is led by one of Beryl's generals, Esmeraude. My plan is not to meet them in the open space. With the size of the force there's no doubt that they will run into a bottleneck at the entrance, and-"

"Then we can attack them at the choke point?" Uranus speculated her partner's plan.

"Exactly," Neptune said, "but there's a chance that Esmeraude will do something before her entire troop gets wiped out at the choke."

"Good point, and it's quite unusual that they are coming in from only one direction." Uranus mulled over some possibilities before offering her suggestion. "Why don't you stand by on the west wing then? I can take on the choke."

The aqua-haired guardian nodded, secretly amazed by the fact that Uranus thought of the same thing she had in mind.

"And I'll set up the same marking spots I did at Miranda on the west entrance."

"But isn't that too obvious?" Uranus quickly asked.

The only response from Neptune was a sly smile. Uranus studied her facial expression and immediately understood.

"Good one, Neptune," Uranus agreed with a knowing smile. "What about your people? With your plan I assume you'd want them to stay here?"

"Sure, but I'll give you my permission to make that announcement at my courtyard if you must," Neptune joked.

Uranus laughed, "Let's go."

Uranus went for the east entrance to wait for the arrival of the Dark Kingdom's force, while Neptune marked spots along the pathway of the west wing and then concealed from sight.

The enemies soon approached the east wing. Uranus saw Esmeraude - she held a red war fan and commanded her troop from behind. The monsters lined up at the entrance, and the light-green haired general waved her fan and ordered them to rush in.

As soon as the first monsters stepped onto the stone pathway, Uranus raised her hand and called upon World Shaking attack towards them. It immediately took out a dozen of monsters.

"Obsidian Shield!" Esmeraude yelled. The Dark Kingdom's general unfolded her war fan and summoned a force field that shielded her troops from Uranus's World Shaking attack and gave them a chance to sneak in.

"Space Sword Blaster!" Uranus sent beaming light from her Sword and destroyed the force field instead. Some monsters had successfully crept in, but the Guardian of the Sky denied them from advancing any further. She briskly sent more powerful Space Sword Blasters to wipe out any monster that dared to set foot onto the stone pathway. Esmeraude continued to summon more force fields in order to distract Uranus and tried to push her troop inside, but Uranus was swift and powerful enough to hold off any advancement.

The Guardian of the Sky brandished her talisman with passion and pique – to her an assault on Triton Castle was the same as an attack on Miranda Castle. She was determined to punish every monster that came close to her partner's castle.

After a while, Uranus noticed that she had hadn't been destroying Esmeraude's force fields in her last few attacks. Glancing over, she couldn't see the light green-haired general anymore and the troop size seemed to have diminished much quicker than what she was expecting. She determined that it was time to notify Neptune.

She hurled her World Shaking attack towards the river, generating a powerful current, before returning to vanquish more monsters.

Neptune was standing by behind the waterfall, awaiting signals from Uranus. Suddenly, she noticed a powerful flow of water descending forcefully. It collapsed onto the plunge pool and formed a strong rotating whirlpool. The aqua-haired guardian knew that it was Uranus's alert. It was time for her to act.

As expected, Esmeraude brought a sizable troop and tried to enter from the west wing instead. The general's scouting unit confirmed to her that there were no senshi spotted on the west wing and it was clear to enter. The light green haired general led in the front and the troop followed her.

Esmeraude set her foot onto the pathway, she waved her fan to gesture her troop to hold position. Feeling a little dubious that Neptune would leave the entrance wide open for her, she wanted to make sure that there were indeed no traps. She looked up at the castle and saw nothing unusual. There were lights at the palace and everything appeared to be same as usual. Then she took a glance on the stone pathway, and spotted some marked spots, the same ones as Queen Beryl's adviser suggested her to pay attention to. She checked the surrounding again and felt pretty confident with what she saw.

"Humph!" Esmeraude huffed sarcastically, "this is all Neptune can do? Child's play."

"March forward!" The light green haired general ordered the troop to continue entering the west entrance. It took a while for the force to move in since the entrance point was even narrower than the east entrance.

Neptune saw the movement. She raised her talisman to send lights onto the spots that she had marked earlier. They were not strong lights as the castle was still pretty bright inside.

"Carry on!" Esmeraude ordered, "it's just an old trick from Neptune. There are no traps or ambushes!"

When the entire force finally crossed the castle's boundary, Neptune raised her hand to hurl out her Deep Submerge attack. A powerful wave gushed out behind the waterfall and dragged along the flows of water from the cataract, forming a giant tsunami wave that engulfed the entire pathway. It instantly disintegrated many monsters.

"What?! They were concealing?!" Esmeraude was stunned by the sudden attack and her false speculation. The light green haired general panicked instead and frantically waved her war fan at the direction of the waves. As a result, she ended up annihilating most of her minions.

It was too late until the Dark Kingdom's general realized that she was baited, but she wasn't ready to give up. With a few monsters remained, the waves receded, and the waterfall returned to the natural flowing state, the vindictive general was determined to seek retaliation on Triton Castle.

But before she advanced further into the castle, Neptune re-emerged from the waterfall. The aqua-haired guardian leapt onto the pathway and landed just in front of Esmeraude and her depleted force, blocking their way.

"I knew you would end up coming in from the west wing, but you won't go any further than where you are!" Neptune declared.

"Why did you mark the spots if you knew I was coming in from this side?!"

"I purposely made you believe that I was using an old trick, otherwise you wouldn't be so confident that I wasn't concealing! All your moves are within our calculation!" 

"You wily guardian!" Esmeraude yelled.

"I will do anything to protect my planet and castle!" Neptune defended. "And my partner Uranus will vanquish the rest of your troop on the east wing!"

The light green haired general was incensed. "You have nothing but deceiving tricks! But you won't prevail over me! You're going to be sorry!"

"Obsidian Shield!" Esmeraude summoned a force field and ordered her minions to attack Neptune but they were easily ripped away by the guardian's powerful ocean waves.

The Dark Kingdom's general then flipped open her fan and began to send attacks towards the Guardian of the Sea. Neptune blocked Esmeraude's attack with her Mirror's beaming light. She immediately called upon her Submarine Reflection as a return attack, but Esmeraude dodged it quickly.

"Humph!" Esmeraude quickly folded her war fan, and as the black crescent moon flashed on her forehead, she opened it again. Each metal rib of her fan had turned into long and sharp blade.

"For all I know Guardian Neptune has no combat skill!" She sprung and landed in front of Neptune, charging her fan at the guardian.

Neptune dodged quickly and Esmeraude continued to strike her bladed fan at her. The guardian had no advantage at this point since she did not have a melee weapon for a close combat.  In order for her to have any chance of returning an attack, she needed to create some distance between them. Standing on the narrow pathway, she was constrained to a few moves and couldn't turn anything into her advantage.

She also realized that Esmeraude's speed was much quicker than she expected. A few times she attempted to jump into the plunge pool, trying to move the battle to a terrain that would let her regain upper-hand, but the general denied her by countering with faster strikes.

Then Esmeraude's attack escalated. She held her bladed fan vertically and cast flaming darts from the blade towards Neptune. The senshi swiftly dove to the ground to avoid them. Before she was able to get up on her feet, she found her chest being stood on by one of Esmeraude's knee high boots.  She tried to struggle herself free but was constrained by her stiletto heel that was practically a dagger. It was pushing dangerously close to pierce through her skin.

"It's over Neptune!" Esmeraude laughed hysterically, preparing for her second strike. Neptune stared at her angrily while scolding herself for not being able to defend her own castle. At this point her only trick left was to pray silently for her senshi partner's rescue. 

The Dark Kingdom's general cast her flaming darts again, and just inches before they struck the guardian, the Space Sword appeared and promptly suspended all of them.

Brisk like the wind came the Guardian of the Sky.

"Uranus!" Neptune exclaimed. Her eyes sparkled with excitement seeing her senshi partner.

Uranus swung her Sword at Esmeraude, forcing her to skip away from them.

"No wonder you need a bodyguard, Neptune," Uranus teased, looking at her senshi partner briefly. "I've got this."

The last few words from Uranus warmed Neptune's heart. She never knew that she could feel at such ease during a battle and trust anybody else with her life.

The Guardian of the Sky wielded her Sword and engaged in a melee combat with Esmeraude. Her attack was swift and forceful and the Dark Kingdom's general could only block with her fan and back away as defense. As Neptune got up on her feet to support her Uranus, she was amazed by how quick and powerful her senshi partner was. The way she brandished her Space Sword was like a beautiful dance – passionate yet elegant.

"Neptune!" Uranus yelled.

The next thing she knew, Uranus had already constrained Esmeraude the same way she was cornered by Esmeraude before. The Dark Kingdom's general had no chance to escape at this point. Neptune immediately raised her hand to hurl her Deep Submerge. Uranus also called upon her World Shaking at the same time. The two attacks coalesced and transformed into one powerful charge. It struck Esmeraude directly and the humanoid instantly turned into a dark void before vanishing.

The Dark Kingdom's scheme failed again.

The two guardians stood on the west wing of Triton Castle, watching the surging water falling over a cliff at the cataract waterfall. Everything had returned to normal and appeared as if there weren't an intense battle moments ago.

"Uranus," Neptune began, looking at her senshi partner, "thank you for coming tonight."

"You're welcome," Uranus said. She then asked with a teasing tone, "Here or to Saturn's birthday party?"

"I guess both," Neptune smiled. "If you didn't show up at Princess Saturn's party, we wouldn't have a chance to fight alongside each other."

"Maybe I would never see you again if I didn't show up."

"I know." Neptune sighed. "Thanks for saving me. I'll be in your debt for this one."

"Just one?" Uranus said grinning, "how about a couple of other instances where you tricked me?"

"Oh Haruka, you're just being petty," Neptune complained. "Plus, you're blaming the wrong person – you're going to have to ask Michiru to pay you back."

"Fine. But for this one, I want you to pay now."

"Now?" Neptune asked, surprised. "What do you want for return?"

"You'll know," Uranus said mysteriously. "Close your eyes."

"You're not using the same trick I used, right?"

"So you are Michiru?"

Neptune giggled. She held onto Uranus's hand and closed her eyes.

* * *

**Titan Castle, Saturn**

When Neptune opened her eyes again, they have returned to Saturn.

The two guardians had de-transformed and were now in the same outfits as they arrived at Titan Castle earlier – Neptune in a golden princess dress and Uranus in a marine blue prince suit.

"Uranus," Neptune said with an amused tone, "are you sure you still want to walk back into the ballroom?" She was referring to their embarrassing dance earlier.

"At least we ended on a high note," Uranus defended. "But you're right, we can't go back in there. Because you probably won't see me again – I'll be busy dancing with other lovely ladies."

"Okay, you tell me what you want to do, since I owe you one."

Uranus reached for the boutonnière that was pinned onto her suit and removed it _._

"Still remember this flower?" Uranus asked, presenting it in front of the aqua-haired princess.

"Yes, the Windflower," Neptune answered, "the topical pain reliever."

"I'm going to give it to you." Uranus said as she started unwrapping the decorative ribbon around the stem of the zaffre blue flower.

"Oh?" Neptune decided to tease Uranus, "for the pain you have put me through for dealing with you?"

Uranus laughed, "If that's the case then you owe me a dozen of these."

She gently lifted up Neptune's hand and looked into her eyes.  With a more serious tone, she continued, "Neptune, I should have trusted you for defending my castle. I never had a chance to tell you how much I appreciated your help but I'm glad that I am finally able to express my gratitude."

"Thank you Uranus, but I also didn't plan things very well at that time…" Neptune said, offering a contrite smile.

"When we were at Triton Castle, I finally got to see the strong, courageous, and astute Guardian of the Sea, and I realized how fortunate I am to have a partner like you."

"Uranus, I felt the same as well," Neptune added. "But better late than never, right? I am happy that we finally got to meet each other, well, at least officially." She chuckled.

"I know," said Uranus. She wrapped the ribbon around Neptune's wrist and placed a gentle kiss on her hand, then offered her a sincere smile, "As you know the Windflower symbolizes trust and loyalty - this will represent my trust in you and my loyalty to you as a senshi partner."

Neptune nodded and returned a warm smile.

"Okay, Uranus. So what are we doing here? We could have done this in Triton Castle."

"We're here to dance," Uranus replied matter-of-factly.

"Are you serious?" Neptune asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you have accepted my corsage, so you'll be my dance partner tonight."

"What?!"

"Come with me."

The blonde princess took Neptune's hand. The next time the aqua-haired princess opened her eyes again they were standing on the ring of Saturn.

"Why are we here? Uranus we can't just trespass the Saturnian territory."

Uranus mocked her, "Princess Neptune, you are certainly no stranger to trespassing. You trespassed multiple forbidden territories and broke several laws on my planet and you didn't seem to care."

"Did I?" Neptune asked incredulously.

Before her question was answered, Uranus had already taken one of her hands and put her other hand around her back. Neptune shook her head with a smile and obliged by placing her hand around her partner's shoulder.

The two princesses spent the rest of their evening dancing on the icy ring of Saturn. Whether their dance was elegant or coordinated, it seemed to be the least of their concern. As they glided along and spun around on the polychromatic ring, they shared chatter, jokes and laughter. They enjoyed each other's company and learned a lot more about one another that were beyond  _Haruka_ and _Michiru_.

After a while, they stopped dancing and walked hand in hand towards the edge of the colorful icy ring. The blonde princess relaxingly looked up to the vast space.

"Tired?" Neptune asked softly.

"No," Uranus shook her head. "Come on, let's stargaze together." She guided Neptune to sit next to her.

Frankly Neptune was physically exhausted after a long day performing at Princess Saturn's birthday party and then defending her castle. Not to mention, mentally her mind still hadn't fully reconciled with the facts that she officially met her senshi partner and fought together with her, and that Haruka was actually Uranus.

Unknowingly but naturally, she rested her head on Uranus's shoulder.

"Neptune," Uranus said in her deep voice, taking Neptune's hand, "thank you for being my dance partner tonight."

"Well, I had no choice, since I owed you one." Neptune teased.

Uranus chuckled and shook her head. She wanted to counter Neptune's sharp words but seeing her resting comfortably on her shoulder, she decided to let this one go.

Suddenly, the aqua-haired princess spotted something interesting.

"Uranus, look!" She pointed at it. "It's a meteor shower! How beautiful!" She then immediately closed her eyes and lowered her chin.

Uranus took a glance and smiled, "It's indeed beautiful. But why do you have your eyes closed?"

Neptune opened her eyes and looked at her senshi partner disbelievingly, "You didn't know that you're supposed to make a wish when you see a meteor shower?"

"Oh Neptune, a princess like you still needs a wish? Isn't your wish everyone's command?" The blonde princess asked grinning.

"Hey, careful with your uninformed accusation," Neptune jokingly used the same line when she acted as Michiru, warning Haruka to be mindful of  _his_  words.

"So what did you wish for?"

"I'm not telling you," Neptune answered playfully, turning away from her senshi partner.

Uranus pondered for a while, and then she began.

"That's okay, I already know what it is," she said confidently.

"Then tell me."

"It's something beyond anyone's control so you really have to wish for it."

"What is it then?" Neptune inquired curiously.

"Well," Uranus giggled mischievously, "you wished that I won't find the right girl so I could consider you for a courtship."

"Haruka!" Neptune almost jumped. "Who wants to court you?!"

" _You_! That's why  _you_  gave me the Skyflower!"

"I've already told you that was not my intention!"

"But you already knew what it meant before giving it to me!"

 _Haruka_ and _Michiru_  started arguing again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for following this story! I really appreciate it. To be honest, I'm not quite sure if I want to continue this further. The original idea (was intended to be a short one) and plots have changed a lot throughout the story but I'm pretty content with the derailment. I still have some plots in my mind but felt like this chapter would make a good ending too. Probably just need to add an epilogue to make things more logical. 
> 
> -The picture of them dancing was the drawing that gave me ideas for this story. I had to resize this so that it wouldn't create a horizontal scroll bar on mobile version. But if you're interested in the full size image, it's available on [DeviantArt](https://thekissinghand.deviantart.com/art/Sailor-Moon-Uranus-and-Neptune-Dancing-724965968)
> 
> -I don't think Esmeraude exist in Silver Millennium but I made a plot for her anyway.


	9. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNING: Read at you own risk!** Seriously, this isn't a typical epilogue that you'd read at the end of a story. (It's pretty long too) I don't even know what it is, maybe it's _"KissingHand-has-gone-crazy-and-wrote-this-just-to-ruin-everything"_. Anyway, I do want to bring closure to the story and connect a few dots, but in order to tie back to the beginning and follow the timeline, it had to be a bit closer to the ending that I originally had in mind. If you were content with how the story ended in the previous chapter, you'll probably be disappointed with this one.
> 
> I know that warning label isn't going to do much, or worse, it's more like "Don't think about the pink elephant!" What are you thinking right now? Yes, the pink elephant! If you decide that you are still ready for a super dark and twisted closure, read on…

**980, Moon Kingdom**

The days of peace and prosperity in the Moon Kingdom had come to an end.

Queen Beryl, influenced by Queen Metaria, the mastermind behind the Dark Kingdom, manipulated the citizens of Earth to fight against the Moon, destroying the entire Moon Kingdom. Prince Endymion, Princess Serenity and her four guardians were fallen during battles; all of the castles in the Inner Solar Systems were completely obliterated.

Nothing could have been saved at this point.

As a last resort to prevent the Dark Kingdom from taking over and starting a new era on its own, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto decided to unleash the hidden power of their talismans to awaken the last senshi, Sailor Saturn, and her Silence Glaive, the weapon of death and destruction which upon lowering it, would bring the end of all existence.

Time was running out. By midnight, the guardians of the outer solar system would gather at Titan Castle to perform their last duty.

* * *

**Triton Castle**

Standing on the west wing of the castle, overlooking the dried cataract waterfall where surging water once falling endlessly over the cliff, the Guardian of the Sea had no more hope left. Her sorrow and pain were indescribable, and she was counting down by the second for the night to be over so that she could be free of her guilt and torment once and for all.

Maybe not quite yet.

A warm breath was felt on the back of her neck. It was the only warmth she could feel and needed for this bitter and frosty night.

"Neptune."

Why did she deserve any more joy when she was supposed to sacrifice herself and suffer the most agonizing pain?

She turned around to her partner, her destined partner whom she 'met' only a little over a year ago. As she gazed at the flawless marine blue eyes and the handsome face, her vision quickly became hazy and her nose tingled.

"Uranus," she said weakly.

The blonde princess ran her fingers through her soft, aqua curls.

"I'm sorry, Neptune. I know I shouldn't have come but-"

She put a finger over her partner's lips, gesturing her to speak no more.

"I have something for you," Neptune whispered.

Uranus understood and nodded; she immediately closed her eyes.

The aqua-haired princess picked up her crystal violin. She rested her chin on the chin rest and started drawing the bow across the strings. Lovely melody and angelic sound produced from the delicate instrument and echoed between the cliffs. It was definitely not appropriate for the occasion and their current condition, but it was the song she had longed to play for her.

When Neptune finished playing, she noticed that Uranus was sniffling slightly.

"It's beautiful as always, Neptune," The blonde princess said, swallowing hard.

"Uranus, thank you for being my senshi partner this past year. I can't tell you how fortunate I feel having to meet and fight with you," Neptune said, trying to stay strong, "I-"

Before Neptune could speak another word, she was interrupted. Uranus had pulled her closer and embraced her tightly. The blonde princess buried her face in her sea curls, whispering warm breath that fanned her neck.

"Neptune," the blonde princess said painfully, "is that all you have to say to me? On our last day?"

Unable to resist her partner's proximity and warmth, Neptune felt her limbs weakened and she had no strength to hold onto to her violin anymore. "I'm sorry Uranus, I meant to tell you that the only regret I have is not meeting you earlier, so I could..." she sighed softly. "The song I just played-"

"I already know, Neptune. You don't have to tell me," Uranus said, taking a deep breath. "That was the Neptunian way of declaring love – playing a love song on an instrument."

Neptune closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around the blonde princess's waist.

"Uranus," she whispered, "I never came forth with my feeling. I thought there could only be senshi partnership between us and I never dared to dream of anything more. Truth be told, I wanted to court you. And as long as you hadn't found the right girl I would have always waited for you..." Neptune voice began to tremble. "That night on the ring of Saturn, I did wish upon the shooting stars that we could be together. I know it's silly-"

Uranus held her even tighter, "You didn't need to make that wish. I would never have to consider you – I don't want to be with anyone but you."

Neptune's heart warmed yet ached. She finally decided to ask the question that she always wondered in her head.

"Neptune? or Michiru?"

Uranus drew herself back so that she could look at the exquisite beauty that she once knew as two separate identities, looking into her tearful eyes, she said, "That night when I raced to the garden looking for Michiru, when I saw her injury, I already had doubts that Michiru  _was_  Neptune."

"How did you know?"

Heaving a sigh, Uranus spoke softly, "Why would a strong guardian like Neptune need a bodyguard?" She then offered a cheerless smile. "I was ready to tell you who I was at that time, even if you hated me as Uranus."

"I never hated you, Uranus," Neptune could not hold back her tears anymore; she pulled Uranus forward and pressed their lips together. "I love you."

The blonde princess lifted her hands to cradle Neptune's face, before returning her partner with a loving, yet bittersweet kiss.

"Neptune, if we can reborn, I want us to be Haruka and Michiru again. Live a normal life, just me and you. I’ll ride with the wind and you'll play your violin." Uranus said dreamily.

"I promise, Haruka. I’ll be your Michiru again."

"It's time to go."

The two princesses held onto each other's hand. They raise their talismans and teleported to Titan Castle.

* * *

**1995, Tokyo**

Sitting on the spectator seat at the racetrack, Michiru watched as Haruka prepared for her practice session, while reminiscing her own past life from a thousand years ago.

Last night was just another night she had to fight a monster alone. She didn't know how much longer she could do that by herself anymore.

She had exhausted all her options trying to get Haruka to face her destiny and accept her duty as Sailor Uranus (and hopefully remember their days during Silver Millennium). She tried using interesting words to get her attention; she tried asking her to be her model for a painting; she tried impressing her with her violin; and she even tried recalling her memory with a painting that resembled the end of Silver Millennium. Nothing worked. Haruka either didn't remember a thing or wanted nothing to do with her past life as she claimed, or both.

Could there be any other possibility?

Perhaps she remembered everything but chose to run away from it?

 _"If we can reborn, I want us to be Haruka and Michiru again."  
_ Michiru silently repeated _Haruka’s_ last wish over and over in her head. Then something finally hit her.

Why did she try so hard to make Haruka Sailor Uranus and accept her destiny? Why would Haruka ever want to carry that responsibility again after having to annihilate the world in her past life? Didn't Haruka just want to be…Haruka?

_If you loved her, why not set her free?_

Something didn't feel right. Michiru sensed a monster in Haruka's garage. She quickly raced down there to check it out.

Her suspicion was correct. A monster had claimed a crew member and was about to lunge at Haruka. The blonde tried to defend herself but was knocked down onto the ground.

Just then, a transformation pen appeared next to her. She seemed to know what it was and tried to reach for it.

Michiru's heart ached seeing what Haruka was about to do. She remembered their last wish at Triton Castle, and was determined to fulfill it for her. She told herself that she would bear the burden alone instead. Whether Haruka was running away from her destiny to pursue a normal life, or even a life without Michiru, she didn't care anymore.

" _Don't touch it!_ " Michiru yelled painfully. The blonde girl looked up and found Michiru standing at the door. The aqua-haired girl then continued, " _If you do, you'll never be able to return to a normal life!_ "

Michiru transformed instead.

Neptune hurled her Deep Submerge attack to the monster, and as she was about to send another attack to vanquish it, Haruka stopped her, telling her that the monster was only a boy moments ago.

As the two were debating, the monster rose again and lunged at the Haruka. Neptune immediately dove to push Haruka out of the way. The monster slashed Neptune with its claws but the Guardian of the Sea used her Deep Submerge to defeat it.

Feeling weak from her injury, she slumped into Haruka's arms.

" _Why did you protect me? If you hurt your hands, you can't be a violinist."_ Haruka asked the injured Neptune lying in her arms.

Why? I love you, Haruka! I'm Michiru! Neptune thought. Of course Haruka knew she was Michiru, but she obviously didn't know she was also the same  _Michiru_  from her past life. Neptune needed to say something more relevant and current, so she decided to confess her feelings as one of her admirers.

" _I didn't snoop around just because you're a soldier. Before I knew that you were the one... I was watching you from nearby when you were racing for the first time. I always wanted to ride in your car along the coastline just once...You never asked any favors of anyone. You are always faithful to your feelings."_ Neptune said.

" _I'm not faithful; I'm always running away,_ " Haruka responded innocently. She didn't seem to have doubts in Neptune's answer.

It's okay, Haruka. Neptune thought again. She desperately wanted to tell Haruka all about their past during Silver Millennium, but as painful as it was, she would rather sacrifice everything in order to allow Haruka to live her life as Haruka and nothing more.

" _I know more about you, than you do... because I watch you all the time! I don't want you to take the same way as I took. Still, I was happy when I found out that you were the one..."_

* * *

**980, Titan Castle**

The guardians of the outer solar system used their talismans to awaken Sailor Saturn. As the young Princess Saturn stood under the Space Sword, the Deep Aqua Mirror, and the Garnet Orb, she transformed into the last senshi, Sailor Saturn. She held onto her mystic weapon, the Silence Glaive, the ultimate tool that was going to annihilate every surviving remains of the Moon Kingdom.

It was midnight.

Without a word spoken, Saturn lowered her Glaive determinedly. With the sharp edge of her weapon pointing towards the ruins of the Moon Castle, everything started going up in flames.

"Farewell, Haruka my love."

"I'll see you again, Michiru."

Soon there was nothing left but ashes.

* * *

**1997, Tokyo**

After Galaxia was defeated, the Outer Senshi bid farewell to Sailor Moon and the Inner Senshi, before moving on with their own lives. At this time Michiru had already given up trying to recall Haruka's memory about their past life during Silver Millennium. She told herself that after all, she was still able to be with Haruka, they were still Haruka and Michiru, and Haruka was still riding with the wind (racing) and she was still playing the violin, so what was the difference? Plus, why bring up a painful past where the ending vastly overshadowed the happy times they shared?

The Outer Senshi were riding home in Haruka's sports car along the coastline. As Hotaru spotted a meteor shower, she asked Haruka-papa to pull to a stop so that they could all make a wish.

" _Setsuna-mama, what did you wish for_?" the young girl asked.

" _I can't tell you,_ " Setsuna smiled and said mysteriously. " _What did you wish for?_ "

" _I can't tell you neither,_ " Hotaru said matter-of-factly. The curious child then looked at her Michiru-mama. " _Michiru-mama, what did you wish for?_ "

The question brought back memories from Silver Millennium again. Michiru hesitated. She still remembered the  _Michiru_  from a thousand years ago had wished to be with  _Haruka_ , but that obviously didn't come true, at least not at that time.

Heaving a gentle sigh, with a bittersweet smile, she said to Hotaru, " _There's nothing to wish upon! Now is our happiest moment! Isn't it, Haruka_?"

" _Yes,_ " Haruka agreed.

When they got home, Haruka asked Michiru if she wanted to take a ride with her again, along the coastline, just the two of them.

"Sure, Haruka," Michiru said smiling as she put on her coat again. "Always."

The two drove back to the same place where Hotaru spotted the meteor shower. They stood outside of Haruka's convertible and looked at the sky together quietly.

"Tired?" Michiru asked softly.

Haruka looked the aqua-haired girl and shook her head.

"Hmm?"

Michiru waited patiently, she knew Haruka was pondering upon something.

"Michiru, now is indeed our happiest moment."

"I know Haruka. You have confirmed it already."

"I actually made a wish when we were here earlier," Haruka informed.

"You did?" Michiru asked, surprised.

Haruka nodded.

"What did you wish for?" The aqua-haired girl was now curious to find out.

"I'm not telling you," Haruka said half-jokingly in her deep voice, she then looked up to the sky again.

Michiru was slightly disappointed. She looked up to the sky as well. Suddenly that conversation flooded her senses. It reminded her that night when they stargazed on the ring of Saturn.

She shut her eyes, trying to suppress the thoughts and memories in her head again.

Suddenly, her hand was gently lifted and something was placed on her palm.

She quickly opened her eyes.

"This is what I had wished for," Haruka said with a smile.

Michiru looked at her palm and was absolutely shocked.

It was a golden flower. The one that looked just like the Skyflower, the floral emblem on the Uranian planet during Silver Millennium.

Her lips shivered, she did not know what to make of that. Was it just a coincidence?

"Michiru," Haruka said, "I'm glad that we are Haruka and Michiru again."

Michiru's vision began to get cloudy and her nose tingled.

"Haruka, did you…did you remember?" She wanted to ask Haruka if she remembered everything from their past life but was too shock and emotional to form a complete question.

Haruka nodded with a smile. "You  _are_  Michiru, I knew it." She used the same line when  _Haruka_  was chasing after  _Michiru_  in Rosalind Garden.

Feeling emotional, Michiru lunged forward to Haruka and held her in a tight clasp, burying her face against her shoulder.

"I am sorry," Haruka said, stroking her sea curls gently, "I never got to give it to you that night, and I made you waited this long."

"It's okay, Haruka. It's okay," Michiru assured, her eyes filled with tears of joy. "I would always wait for you, even if it's another thousand-"

Haruka put her finger over her lips, making her go silent.

"No. Our bond is everlasting, and we will never be separated again."

Haruka's lifted her hands to cradle Michiru's face. With a warm smile, she leaned down to give her everlasting partner a loving kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and following the story! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> I know it's not the happiest closure for a rather lighthearted story. I apologize for the vast and unexpected twist from the ending on Chapter 8.
> 
> The original idea was that this would strictly be a friendship story but the interactions between Haruka and Michiru changed my mind. I did purposely make their pseudo names Haruka and Michiru in Silver Millennium because that was ultimately how it tied back to their future civilian identities and stories.
> 
> I appreciate any feedback you have - Thanks again!  
> \---  
> April 2018 Update: I just started a new story called Unfinished Melody which is a side/supplemental story to this one and took place between Ch 8 and the epilogue!


End file.
